The potential 30% rebate on business expenditure is paying dividends for the automotive industry – and that boost is set to continue for the next three months.

A report by CommSec into recent sales notes that while vehicle sales have trended down over the last year, by 20.2%, sales of ‘other’ vehicles – utes, trucks, vans and buses, are on the rise.

“Interestingly the government stimulus announcement of a 30 tax rebate on business investment is finally paying dividends,” economist Savanth Sebastian suggests in the report.

“Sales of commercial trucks, van and buses have picked up marginally over March, a trend that is likely to continue in the lead up to the June 30 deadline.

“If it wasn’t for the make up of the Senate, the boost could have been even stronger.

“In fact, sales of “business vehicles” would have recorded a much more significant pickup if the government had a majority in both houses of parliament,” Sebastian says.

“There is no doubt some businesses are lacking confidence in the government’s ability to pass the tax rebate especially after the defeat of the alco-pops bill.”

Source: Autofile