New vehicle sales at record highs: Australian market year-to-date wrap, winners and losers
We have hit the half-way point of 2016, and new vehicle sales logged in offical VFACTS data remain at record highs on the back of a booming business fleet market.
Another huge month in June (belying a speculated downturn resulting from an interminable election cycle) has put half-yearly sales at 598,140 units, up 3.4 per cent. This means the annual tally should go close to hitting 1.2 million for the first time.
A number of leading brands including Mazda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Kia and Subaru (to name just a few) are claiming brand records.
Read our detailed wrap of June 2016 new vehicle sales in separate story here.
By model
The top-selling car this year, following four successive months of spectacular form, is the Hyundai i30, with 22,857 units year-to-date (YTD) and 45 per cent growth. This comes on the back of huge factory discounts, and in spite of the discontinuation of the i30 wagon.
Second is the Toyota HiLux with 21,171 units, ahead of the Toyota Corolla (20,544), Mazda 3 (20,088), Ford Ranger (18,199), Holden Commodore (13,349), Mazda CX-5 (12,593), Mitsubishi Triton (12,426), Volkswagen Golf (10,893) and Toyota Camry (9905).
The top-selling passenger vehicles YTD by segment: Mitsubishi Mirage (micro), Hyundai Accent (light), Hyundai i30 (small), Audi A3 (luxury small), Toyota Camry (medium), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (luxury medium), Holden Commodore (large), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (luxury large), Holden Caprice (upper large), Mercedes-Benz S-Class (luxury upper large), Kia Carnival (people-mover), Ford Mustang (affordable sports) and Porsche 911 (high-end sports).
The YTD SUV leaders by segment are Mazda CX-3 (small SUV), BMW X1 (luxury small SUV), Mazda CX-5 (medium SUV), Mercedes-Benz GLC (luxury medium SUV), Toyota Prado (large SUV), BMW X5 (luxury large SUV), Toyota LandCruiser (upper large SUV), Mercedes-Benz GLS (luxury upper large SUV), Toyota HiAce (van) and Toyota HiLux (ute).
By make
The leading brands YTD are Toyota (up 0.6 per cent 102,344, albeit to a reduced market share of 17.1 percentage points), followed by Mazda (up 7.7 per cent to 60,973), Hyundai (up 8.5 per cent to 54,350), Holden (down 7.2 per cent to 48,010) and Ford (up a very healthy 16 per cent to 40,383).
Rounding out the top ten are Mitsubishi (up 3.9 per cent to 37,265), Nissan (up 2.5 per cent to 33,773), Volkswagen (down 6.9 per cent to 29,809 — it really needs that new Tiguan), Subaru (up 11.1 per cent to 24,061) and Kia (up a huge 27.8 per cent to 21,286).
Knocking on the door are Mercedes-Benz with 20,681 units, Honda with 19,633 units, BMW with 15,754 units, Audi with 12,159 units, Isuzu Ute with 11,457 units and Suzuki with 10,133 units.
Notable fast-growing brands (more than 20 per cent) are BMW, Jaguar, Kia, Lamborghini, Land Rover, LDV, Porsche and Volvo Car.
The biggest losers are Fiat Chrysler’s passenger and SUV brands, led by Jeep (down 51 per cent, outsold by Land Rover), Peugeot/Citroen, Chinese brand Foton Light and SsangYong. Volume brand Holden and Volkswagen have also lost out this year, having sold 3737 and 2211 units fewer over the course of 2016 than in the same period last year.
Industry trends
Passenger vehicles lead the way with 247,149 sales, though this figure is down a shade over 5 per cent. SUVs are up 11.4 per cent to 222,393 units, closing the market-share gap appreciably. Light commercial vehicles are up 10 per cent to 112,833.
The fastest-growing vehicle segments are medium van, people-movers, sports cars and medium SUVs. The worst-performing are micro cars, light cars, upper large cars and light vans.
The order of sales by state are NSW (202,695), Victoria (161,288), Queensland (121,962), Western Australia (51,925), South Australia (36,019), ACT (9575), Tasmania (8787) and Northern Territory (5889). All are up bar WA (down 4.3 per cent) and Tas (down 2.8 per cent).
It has been business fleets driving the growth, with sales growing YTD by 15.8 per cent to 234,175. Private sales dropped 4.5 per cent to 302,011, though private SUV sales are up. Rentals are up 6.5 per cent to 25,278 and government sales are down 0.7 per cent to 20,911.
Our main trading partner for new vehicles was Japan (166,946) ahead of Thailand (142,010), Korea (83,387), Germany (44,728), the USA (27,298) and England (18,503). There were 40,663 Australian-made cars sold, down 11.2 per cent.
Top 10 brands Jan-Jun 2016:
Toyota - 102,344 (up 0.6 per cent)
Mazda - 60,973 (up 7.7 per cent)
Hyundai - 54,350 (up 8.5 per cent)
Holden - 48,010 (down 7.2 per cent)
Ford - 40,383 (up 16 per cent)
Mitsubishi - 37,265 (up 3.9 per cent)
Nissan - 33,773 (up 2.5 per cent)
Volkswagen - 29,809 (down 6.9 per cent)
Subaru - 24,061 (up 11.1 per cent)
Kia - 21,286 (up 27.8 per cent)
Top 10 models Jan-Jun 2016:
Hyundai i30 - 22,857
Toyota HiLux - 21,171
Toyota Corolla - 20,544
Mazda 3 - 20,088
Ford Ranger - 18,199
Holden Commodore - 13,349
Mazda CX-5 - 12,593
Mitsubishi Triton - 12,426
Volkswagen Golf - 10,983
Toyota Camry - 9905
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