Car fleet sales hit accelerate after federal election Opposition Leader Tony Abbott doubts changes to the fringe benefits tax will save as much as projected. Car fleet forward orders are up 64 per cent. FLEET companies are reporting a sharp increase in demand for new cars even though the market posted its biggest sales drop in 18 months in September. Official data showed new-car deliveries were down by 2.1 per cent last month, but the Australian Fleet Lessors Association says forward orders rose by a staggering 64 per cent in the weeks after the Coalition won government on September 7. Fleet sales took a massive hit in the lead-up to the federal election after the Rudd Government announced changes to the Fringe Benefits Tax on the personal use of company cars. When in Opposition the Coalition said it would not go ahead with the changes it if won government. Although the proposed FBT changes are yet to be formally scrapped, the market has taken the Abbott Government on its word. "We expect the new-car market will return to normal very quickly," said AFLA executive officer John Bills. The first half of September was slow but our members have reported a 64 per cent increase in forward orders for new cars in the last two weeks of the month, once the federal election result sank in. Australian-made cars were also the big winners, with new orders increasing by 24 per cent in September compared to August, while the increase for imported vehicles was up 21 per cent compared to August. The AFLA data was sourced from nine of the biggest fleet companies in Australia, which have more than 550,000 vehicles on the road and typically write up 100,000 new orders each year, about 10 per cent of the new-car market. "In the last two weeks alone our members took 5000 forward orders," said Mr Bills. On a good month they'd do 9000 forward orders, so it's well above average. Mr Bills said he expected to see the impact of the forward orders reflected in official sales results as early as next month. But the 5000 orders in the last fortnight of September won't necessarily appear immediately because the deliveries could be spread over the coming months. Not everyone is reporting a market turnaround, though. Some dealers are still reporting tough selling conditions even though official data shows sales to private buyers increased by 6 per cent last month as governments (down 15 per cent) and fleets (down 10 per cent) hit the brakes on new-car orders. "We expected things to go back to normal after the election," said the dealer principal of a large multibrand new-car franchise in Sydney's west, who wished to remain anonymous. But we're still waiting for the wave to hit. Inquiries have improved but they haven't automatically translated to an increase in sales. Tony Abbott promised the scrapping of changes to the Fringe Benefits Tax during the election campaign. The industry is taking him at his word. Fleet companies reported a 64 per cent increase in forward orders in the second half of September compared to the first half. Fleet orders for Australian-made cars such as the Holden Commodore, Toyota Camry and Ford Falcon increased by 24 per cent in September compared to August. Fleet orders for imported vehicles were up 21 per cent in September compared to August. Sales to private car buyers in September were up by 6 per cent compared with the same month last year. Car sales to business and government fleets were down by 10 and 15 per cent respectively. Source: Australian Fleet Lessors Association and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Follow JoshuaDowling on Twitter.