New vehicle sales in Australia dropped 1.5 per cent on the same month in 2017, with new registrations totalling 95,221 units. Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria all recorded increases, while the rest of the nation – led by a 9.7 per cent drop for the Northern Territory – was down.
Coming on the back of a July in which sales dipped 7.8 per cent on last year, the result leaves the market 0.3 per cent down on 2017, with a total of 786,294 sales year-to-date.
Passenger cars were down 13.4 per cent on last year, while the SUV market rebounded from a marginally weaker July to grow by 8.3 per cent. Light commercial vehicles fell 1.3 per cent, but sales are still up by 2.3 per cent year-to-date.
Every single passenger segment shrunk compared to 2017, headlined by 24.1 per cent and 60.3 per cent drops for medium and large cars respectively. That contrasted with growth for every SUV segment except upper large, which fell marginally.
Brands
In news that'll shock no-one, Toyota dominated the charts in August with 18,833 sales (up 1.7 per cent) and a 19.8 per cent market share. Mazda owned 11.3 per cent of the market with 10,470 sales, with the latter figure representing a 26.2 per cent leap over August 2017.
Hyundai maintained its hold on third with 8006 sales (up 2.6 per cent) and an 8.4 per cent market share, trailed by Mitsubishi (7067 cars, up 6.3 per cent) and Ford (5962, down 10.3 per cent).
Volkswagen leapt into sixth on the charts with 4637 sales, down 2.0 per cent, followed closely by Kia (4620, up 2.5 per cent) and Nissan (4440, up 8.4 per cent). Holden (4356, down 37.6 per cent) clung gamely onto ninth, while Subaru (3845) maintained 10th in spite of a 16.0 per cent drop.
Honda (3486, down 6.4 per cent) narrowly missed the top 10, ahead of Mercedes-Benz, Isuzu Ute (which continued its remarkable run of growth months, albeit only just), BMW, Suzuki, Audi, Renault, Land Rover, Volvo and Skoda.
On the positive side of things, Alfa Romeo (123, up 31.3 per cent) and Infiniti (95, up 97.9 per cent) both bucked the downward trend in luxury sales. They're coming off a low base, sure, but credit where it's due. MG continued its charge with 332 sales, up 577.6 per cent, while Volvo (689, 83.7 per cent) is benefitting hugely from the XC40.
Porsche, on the other hand, fell 25.4 per cent, joining Audi (1067, down 25.8 per cent), BMW (1760, down 12.2 per cent) and Lexus (619, down 11.7 per cent) in the luxury doghouse. Oh, and Morgan sales dropped drastically – having shifted two cars in August 2017, it moved just one last month. An alarm is no doubt ringing in Malvern, UK.
| BRAND | SALES | CHANGE | MARKET SHARE |
| Toyota | 18,833 | +1.7 per cent | 19.8 per cent |
| Mazda | 10,470 | +26.2 per cent | 11.3 per cent |
| Hyundai | 8006 | +2.6 per cent | 8.4 per cent |
| Mitsubishi | 7067 | +6.3 per cent | 7.4 per cent |
| Ford | 5962 | -10.3 per cent | 6.3 per cent |
| Volkswagen | 4637 | -2.0 per cent | 4.9 per cent |
| Kia | 4620 | +2.5 per cent | 4.9 per cent |
| Nissan | 4440 | +8.4 per cent | 4.7 per cent |
| Holden | 4356 | -37.6 per cent | 4.6 per cent |
| Subaru | 3845 | -16.0 per cent | 4.0 per cent |
| Honda | 3486 | -6.4 per cent | 3.7 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz | 3284 | -3.4 per cent | 3.4 per cent |
| Isuzu Ute | 2167 | +1.7 per cent | 2.3 per cent |
| BMW | 1760 | -12.2 per cent | 1.8 per cent |
| Suzuki | 1320 | -28.4 per cent | 1.4 per cent |
| Audi | 1067 | -25.8 per cent | 1.1 per cent |
| Renault | 810 | -11.4 per cent | 0.9 per cent |
| Land Rover | 719 | -32.0 per cent | 0.8 per cent |
| Volvo | 689 | +83.7 per cent | 0.7 per cent |
| Skoda | 625 | +28.1 per cent | 0.7 per cent |
Models
Toyota topped the sales charts with the HiLux (4275), followed by the Ford Ranger (3515) and Toyota Corolla (3033). The ever-popular Mazda 3 (2969) and CX-5 (2599) rounded out the top five, trailed by the Hyundai i30 (2323), Toyota Prado (2019), Hyundai Tucson (1998), Nissan X-Trail (1910) and Mitsubishi Triton (1752).
That leaves the Volkswagen Golf and Toyota RAV4 out of the top 10, despite occupying ninth and eighth spots respectively last month.
| MODEL | SALES | CHANGE | TYPE |
| Toyota HiLux | 4275 | -0.27 per cent | Ute |
| Ford Ranger | 3515 | -2.09 per cent | Ute |
| Toyota Corolla | 3033 | +2.9 per cent | Small car |
| Mazda 3 | 2969 | +37.3 per cent | Small car |
| Mazda CX-5 | 2599 | +26.9 per cent | Medium SUV |
| Hyundai i30 | 2323 | +8.4 per cent | Small car |
| Toyota Prado | 2019 | +79.1 per cent | Large SUV |
| Hyundai Tucson | 1998 | -9.4 per cent | Medium SUV |
| Nissan X-Trail | 1910 | +89.5 per cent | Medium SUV |
| Mitsubishi Triton | 1752 | -11.0 per cent | Ute |
| Mitsubishi Outlander | 1719 | +10.3 per cent | Medium SUV |
| Toyota RAV4 | 1684 | +4.9 per cent | Medium SUV |
| Toyota Camry | 1604 | -23.9 per cent | Medium car |
| Volkswagen Golf | 1553 | +1.2 per cent | Small car |
| Mitsubishi ASX | 1543 | -7.9 per cent | Small SUV |
| Kia Cerato | 1491 | +4.6 per cent | Small car |
| Isuzu D-Max | 1461 | +4.5 per cent | Ute |
| Holden Colorado | 1439 | -6.6 per cent | Ute |
| Mazda CX-3 | 1387 | +11.4 per cent | Small SUV |
| Hyundai Accent | 1357 | +25.0 per cent | Light car |
Segment leaders
| SEGMENT | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD |
| Micro cars | Kia Picanto, 357 | Fiat/Abarth 500, 62 | Mitsubishi Mirage, 52 |
| Light cars | Hyundai Accent, 1357 | Mazda 2, 1134 | Toyota Yaris, 821 |
| Small cars under $40k | Toyota Corolla, 3033 | Mazda 3, 2969 | Hyundai i30, 2323 |
| Small cars over $40k | Mercedes-Benz A-Class, 419 | Audi A3, 264 | BMW 1 Series, 186 |
| Medium cars under $60k | Toyota Camry, 1604 | Mazda 6, 289 | Volkswagen Passat, 208 |
| Medium cars over $60k | BMW 3 Series, 301 | Mercedes-Benz CLA, 263 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class, 197 |
| Large cars under $70k | Holden Commodore, 682 | Kia Stinger, 125 | Skoda Superb, 62 |
| Large cars over $70k | Mercedes-Benz E-Class, 102 | BMW 5 Series, 52 | Jaguar XF, 29 |
| Upper large cars | Mercedes-Benz S-Class, 20 | Chrysler 300, 10 | BMW 6 Series GT, 8 |
| People movers | Kia Carnival, 578 | Honda Odyssey, 129 | Volkswagen Multivan, 95 |
| Sports cars under $80k | Ford Mustang, 736 | Toyota 86, 70 | Subaru BRZ, 65 |
| Sports cars under $200k | Mercedes-Benz C-Class, 90 | Mercedes-Benz E-Class, 68 | BMW 4 Series, 56 |
| Small SUV | Mitsubishi ASX, 1543 | Mazda CX-3, 1387 | Subaru XV, 1144 |
| Small SUV over $40k | Mercedes-Benz GLA, 269 | Volvo XC40, 266 | Audi Q3, 219 |
| Medium SUV | Mazda CX-5, 2599 | Hyundai Tucson, 1998 | Nissan X-Trail, 1910 |
| Medium SUV over $60k | Mercedes-Benz GLC, 644 | BMW X3/4, 500 | Lexus NX, 263 |
| Large SUV | Toyota Prado, 2019 | Toyota Kluger, 1259 | Subaru Outback, 1080 |
| Large SUV over $70k | BMW X5/6, 250 | Mercedes-Benz GLE, 239 | Range Rover Sport, 158 |
| Upper large SUV | Toyota LandCruiser, 1109 | Nissan Patrol, 121 | |
| Upper large SUV over $100k | Mercedes-Benz GLS, 125 | Range Rover, 23 | Lexus LX, 20 |
| Small van | Volkswagen Caddy, 153 | Renault Kangoo, 64 | Citroen Berlingo, 32 |
| Medium van | Toyota HiAce, 517 | Hyundai iLoad, 329 | Ford Transit Custom, 178 |
| Large van | Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, 456 | Renault Master, 120 | Volkswagen Crafter, 111 |
| 4x2 ute | Toyota HiLux, 1068 | Mazda BT-50, 448 | Ford Ranger, 432 |
| 4x4 ute | Toyota HiLux, 3207 | Ford Ranger, 3083 | Mitsubishi Triton, 1538 |
Miscellaneous
The best-selling segments were medium SUV (16,972), small cars (16,239), 4x4 utes (13,941), large SUV (11,618) and small SUV (11,259).
Private sales (42,366) led the way, ahead of business (38,521) buyers, rental fleet (7279) registrations, and government buys (3210).
There were 59,711 petrol sales, followed by 30,249 diesels and 1416 electric/hybrid vehicles, excluding Tesla registrations.
Our top five suppliers were Japan (31,517), Thailand (23,832), South Korea (13,602), Germany (7269) and the USA (3742).
