Hail storm delivers windfall to new-car sales in Canberra

The hail storm that lashed Canberra in late January has delivered a boom in new-car sales as the rest of the market hit the brakes. Official figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries for March show sales of new cars in the Australian Capital Territory increased by a staggering 77 per cent compared to the same month the previous year (from 1700 to almost 3000 vehicles) – as the overall market nationally fell by 18 per cent.