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Seventy-five percent of Australian-built cars are bought by companies. Private buyers want imports or four-wheel drives, reports Peter McKay.

Large, six-cylinder sedan sales are underpinned by corporate purchases. But changing lifestyles and flexible finance are fuelling the switch to more desirable, imported company cars.

Holden and Ford are not yet inclined to drag out the worry beads but buyers have been drifting off into imports -- particularly recreational four-wheel drives.

Our lifestyles and families are changing fundamentally. The average household has contracted from 3.3 people in 1971 to 2.6 last year.

We're marrying later, too -- or not getting married at all -- and having fewer kids. In the same period the proportion of unmarried 20 to 29-year-olds has jumped from 35.7 per cent to 75.6 per cent.

We've also seen the economic and social liberation of women who, according to car company research, prefer smaller, often cheaper cars and compact 4WDs.

As well, a generally more affluent society is showing affection for European cars.

The need for big local family sixes is shrinking, along with our families.

Which is why Holden in particular has been working hard at other growth segments -- mini (Barina), small (Astra), fashionable (Astra convertible), cute four-wheel drive (Cruze), people mover (Zafira)...

It is also why Holden, Ford and Mitsubishi have been beavering away at creating locally made 4WDs.

Combined Commodore/Falcon sales fell from just more than 160,000 in 1996 to 143,000 in last year's record market. The Falcon has been the big loser lately, a situation Ford hopes can be turned around by the BA model.

This shift in consumer tastes has not been lost on rival brands, notably some importers. They've seen an opportunity to finally break the big, local products' stranglehold on Australian consumers.

Still, it's not easy to zero in on the tastes of our car buyers when, on one hand, they're buying off-road and soft-road vehicles in bigger numbers than ever, while also showing a real enthusiasm for fuel-efficient compact cars like the Toyota Echo and Astra.

It will be fascinating to see if the big and thirsty 4WDs maintain their sales momentum should the sabre rattling in the Middle East lead to a conflict that sends oil prices soaring.

Then there is the impact of user-chooser salary packaging on our buying preferences.

A user-chooser company employee given a ceiling of $40,000 is often opting for a fully equipped Alfa 147, Subaru Liberty, Peugeot 307 or VW Golf in preference to the prosaic local fleet chariot.

They've asked themselves whether they need a Commodore or Falcon if they don't routinely cart around a number of kids.

User-choosers with a car allowance capped close to the luxury car tax threshold of $57,009 enjoy an even broader choice.

The Mercedes C-class, BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Jaguar X-Type are exclusive alternatives to a Holden Calais or Ford Fairmont Ghia.

Novated lease salary packages are the largest growth area in the huge fleet sales sector, which has accounted for 75 per cent of Commodore and Falcon sales in recent years.

It isn't difficult to understand why. An employee can nominate a company car of choice instead of the traditional method of taking whatever the boss provides -- inevitably a poverty-pack white Falcon or Commodore.

The user-chooser novated lease (where the employee might opt for a more expensive car and sacrifice part of his or her salary) is finding favour in most areas of business.

It benefits both the employer and employee. A novated lease -- one repaid with money taken from the pay of an employee -- allows staff to get a car they really want (even a used model) through their salary package at pre-taxed dollars.

Should the employee leave the company, he or she can either pay out the lease, or else refinance it.

The company gets a "risk-free" deal because it isn't stuck with the cost of disposing of what can be an expensive company car. For example, the company won't have to pay out the lease on, say, the departing managing director's S-class or 7 Series.

And as user-chooser novated leases command more attention, the local big sixes are losing out to more fashionable cars wearing badges from Honda, Mazda, Subaru, Audi, BMW...

But an executive with one of Australia's big fleet-leasing companies is stunned importers and manufacturers haven't responded more robustly to the opportunities in promoting and marketing novated lease deals to the public.

"The consumers seem more aware of the possibilities of securing a car that's suitable to their needs than the car people are [capable] of selling it to them," the executive told Drive.

Salary packaging has reached the average consumer but most vehicle manufacturers are not gearing their advertising and promotion to this sector.

Honda is one of the brands aware of the new opportunities. It introduced an Executive Benefit Program for those who qualify as user-choosers.

The benefits include a national corporate purchase price, capped dealer delivery fee, service rebates, dealer valet service and courtesy cars.

An indication of the potential of this sector is that just about all school teachers can access a novated lease -- and there are more than 200,000 chalkies across Australia. The same goes for staff in many government departments.

"Some car makers are still treating novated lease sales like retail sales -- but others have woken to the new opportunities, with dedicated fleet discount schemes," the lease company executive said.

"There is not a lot of understanding out there about novated leases."

He pointed to opportunities to personalise these novated lease vehicles with extras such as alloy wheels, sunroofs and more sophisticated in-car entertainment systems by increasing monthly rentals.

"Years of Falcon and Holden dominance of fleets is hard to break but the edges are very slowly being chipped away as the user-choosers realise there are other good vehicles available for attractive rents."