Car sales October 2012: small cars

The Mazda3 trailed its only real threat for the crown, the Toyota HiLux, by 61 sales last month, giving the Japanese small car a 1309-unit lead over the Thailand-sourced ute with just two months of the year to go.

The Toyota Corolla – in a transition phase between the run-out of the old model and the launch of the 11^th-generation hatch – ranked second in the small-car segment and fourth overall across the industry, and looks set to have a big 2013 thanks, in part, to its new $19,990 starting price.

The Hyundai i30 (2898) ended the month close behind in third place in the segment, and is now within striking distance of the Holden Cruze’s third spot on the full-year sales race podium, with the locally made small car currently holding its position by a margin of just 930 cars.

The Volkswagen Golf had a big month in October to finish fourth ahead of the Cruze (2436 versus 2251), leapfrogging the Ford Focus in year-to-date sales to round out the top five.

The Focus was the only other major player last month with 1740 sales, finishing well clear of the Honda Civic (1246), Mitsubishi Lancer (1035), Kia Cerato (709) and the Hyundai Elantra (626).

The Subaru Impreza (592), Mercedes-Benz B-Class (299) and the Suzuki SX4 (206) were the next best outside the top 10.

The Cerato is closing in on the Impreza for the final place in the 2012 small car top 10, narrowing the gap to just 335 vehicles leading into the end of the year.

The small car segment has grown 1.9 per cent in 2012, up from 204,602 units to 208,402, although its share of the total market has fallen from 24.4 per cent to 22.7 per cent as all four SUV segments have grown.

Top 10 best-selling small cars – October 2012

Top 20 best-selling small cars – 2012 to date

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Car sales October 2012: winners and losers

Car sales October 2012: SUV