The worst-selling cars in Australia in 2023

Now that the dust has settled on 2023, a year for record new car sales in Australia, it’s time to look at the opposite end of the sales chart, to find those cars that haven’t done as well as Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Tesla Model Y et al.

A quick recap…

Australians bought more new cars in 2023 than ever before, with total sales of 1,216,780 according to data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries earlier this month.

The top 10 best-selling cars of 2023 provide an interesting snapshot into current automotive trends in Australia, the top three spots filled by utes, followed by a slew of SUVs of all shapes and sizes. There’s not a single passenger car (sedan, hatchback, station wagon) in sight.

Between them, the top-10 selling models accounted for 332,603 sales, or, around 27 per cent of the entire new car market.

Those are significant numbers, especially when considering there our new car market – passenger cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles (utes, vans) – is comprised of around 360 distinct models. In a saturated market, cracking the top 10 is no mean feat, worthy of recognition.

But, what about at the other end of the sales charts? What are the models Australians are buying in the fewest numbers?

We scanned the FCAI’s VFACTS data for 2023 and found 11 models where total sales for the year numbered fewer than 10 cars.

To be fair, as you will see from the list, most of the 11 are old (and in at least one case, very old) models that have probably sat forgotten in the dimmest showroom corners waiting for that one buyer to walk in asking ‘have you got any FJ Cruisers?’. In fact, of the 11 cars in this list, only three are what we would call ‘current’ models.

The rest? A panoply of ageing metal, discontinued models where just a handful – and sometimes less – examples remained on dealers’ stock lists waiting for the right buyer to come along. And for the following models, in 2023, come along they – mostly – did.

Now better known as the Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer, the Valente nameplate was last seen on MY21 models. That didn’t deter eight customers from handing over their hard-earned for the eight-seat people mover in 2023.

The MY23 Vito Tourer meanwhile, racked up 127 sales. While still not setting the sales chart alight, it was enough to keep it off this list and still ahead of the similarly commercial vehicle-based Toyota Granvia (based on the HiAce) which recorded 112 sales in 2023.

The favourite of Highway Patrol jurisdictions everywhere, the Chrysler 300 was discontinued in Australia in 2021. But with stocks of the blunt-faced muscle car lingering in dealerships, seven buyers took the opportunity to grab the last remnants of the big, powerful sedan, undoubtedly a dying breed. They’re probably cop cars.

The hydrogen-powered Mirai continues to be an experiment in Australia, not available to the general public, sales limited to organisations and government departments looking to trial the benefits of the alternative alternative energy source. With a range of around 650km from one tank of hydrogen, and with tailpipe emissions amounting to nothing more than water, the Mirai is a rolling proof-of-concept on Australian roads.

Like the Chrysler, the Jaguar XF is an anachronism in today’s motoring landscape, a large, luxurious and powerful sedan that harks back to Jaguar’s XJ glory years. Sadly, those years are firmly in the rear-view mirror as buyers flock to SUVs including plenty with the leaping cat on the bonnet. Today, Jaguar’s best-selling vehicle in Australia is the F-Pace large SUV while the smaller E-Pace SUV in a not-so-close second.

Not a lot to see here other than sales were down for 2023 compared with 2022, just three of the million-dollar two-door Rollers, likely the Wraith (VFACTS doesn't distinguish) finding new homes this year. Last year, the brand sold five in Australia. In fact, overall sales of the ultimate in luxury motoring were down in 2023, the BMW-owned British brand shifting 49 cars last year, down 18 per cent on the previous year’s 60 motors. Seems the top end of town isn’t immune from the ravages of cost-of-living pressures.

Another motoring anachronism, the Quattroporte has been well and truly gazumped from within by Maserati’s all-new small SUV, the Grecale. While just three buyers saw fit to get their hands on a new Quattroporte, the Grecale accounted for 494 sales in 2023, a massive 77.4 per cent of the brand’s total sales for the year.

Yep, somewhere in Australia, two ‘new’ Toyota FJ Cruisers are cruising the streets for the first time in 2023 despite last being officially on sale in 2016. That’s seven long years sitting in a dealership corner gathering dust for an SUV that has, over the intervening years, achieved cult status.

The original Hyundai to bear the Ioniq name was last on sale officially in Australia as an MY22 model. It’s been well and truly usurped by a pair of electric vehicles from the Korean brand bearing the same nameplate – Ioniqs 5 and 6, soon the be joined by the hot Ioniq 5 N. A bit like the ugly step-sisters at Cinderella’s ball, the original Ioniq has been overlooked for younger and more appealing models. But, one buyer, it seems, preferred the older model, proof that there is someone out there for everyone.

The original gangster hybrid redefined the idea of economical and environmental motoring around the world. Toyota pulled the plug on the Prius in Australia in 2022, despite the advent of an all-new fifth-generation model available in overseas markets. There’s a consensus in the Drive office the new Prius is a missed opportunity for Australia. With stunning looks and Toyota’s tried-and-trusted hybrid technology, the new Prius would almost sell more than the lone example of the previous-gen car snapped up by a solitary buyer in 2023.

Once the darling of the affordable motoring set, the Mitsubishi Mirage fell out of favour in 2021, having amassed a stunning 79,216 sales since the nameplate’s launch in 1996. That number includes the lone Mirage sold in February of 2023, Mitsubishi Australia confirming it was the last remaining example on the showroom floor.

While it’s easy to get excited by the prospect of the last remaining Lexus LFA finding a new home in 2023, more than 10 years after it officially went on sale in Australia, the reality is a little more bureaucratic.

As Drive reported in July last year, the last of 10 LFAs (and one of just 500 globally) ever available in Australia, “was reported as sold last month to meet the 1 July 2023 deadline of the transition between the old Motor Vehicle Standards Act (which dates back to 1989) and the new Road Vehicle Standards Act, which are the laws that govern the importing, approval and registration of cars in Australia.

“The Lexus LFA was reported as sold so it could be added to the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV), which is a database of vehicle details that can be registered for road use.

“If this (1 July, 2023 deadline was not met, there would be a risk the Lexus LFA in question would not be able to be legally registered in Australia.”

A spokesperson for Lexus Australia told Drive in July that the LFA – which is owned by a dealer – has not been sold.