Overall motor vehicle sales in January retreated a bit as consumers appeared to reallocate their resources on more pressing needs due to the flooding disaster that had hit many Australian states.

However, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) said in a statement released on Thursday that while the January numbers may have been a letdown, it was understandable considering the devastations left behind by the floods especially in Queensland.

Despite the decline, FCAI stressed that the current results point to a solid standing for the industry, in which the past month registered total sales of 73,584 that cover commercial vehicles, passenger cars and the best-selling sports utility vehicles (SUV).

FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar admitted that the numbers represented a slide of 1.7 percent for the industry in the month but he asserted that "this is a robust January sales result and provides a good start to 2011"

McKellar said that in spite of the flooding disaster that engulfed the nation for almost two months, "it is encouraging to see that private buyers remained confident throughout January, with sales to those customers up 13.6 per cent while business purchases declined."

He reported that Queensland indeed took a hit as sales of new vehicles in the state dipped by 12.8 percent or 2000 units in the month, which the FCAI attributed to consumers' preoccupation on recovery efforts for losses they incurred.

McKellar added that in the aftermath of the floods, "we can expect sales in Queensland to be slower in the short-term, but will pick up in the months ahead as people begin to look for replacement vehicles."

Again, Toyota bested other carmakers as it captured a market share of 20.1 percent in the month, with Holden following in a bit distance by securing the second spot in January for its share of 11.4 percent.

Japanese carmaker Mazda was on third place for its 9.8 percent market share while Americas' Ford and South Korea's Hyundai followed suit by settling in the fourth place, for their identical market share of 8.7 percent in January.