VFACTS June 2021: New-car sales results show utes fill top three spots for second time in history
It was a weak June new-car sales result but the strongest month since the start of the pandemic – as semiconductor shortages slowed deliveries and stretched waiting times.
For only the second time in Australian automotive history, utes filled the top three sales spots outright in a given month, with record Ford Ranger sales leading the market ahead of the Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max in June 2021.
The first time utes dominated the Top Three was in June 2018, when the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger led the Mitsubishi Triton in third place.
According to official new-car sales figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, last month was a weak June result but the strongest month since the start of the pandemic – as semiconductor shortages continued to slow deliveries and stretch waiting times.
Five of the Top 10 brands hit reverse in June 2021 compared to the same month last year, and most dealers say they couldn’t get enough cars to deliver and are now carrying over large orders into the second half of the year.
The June 2021 tally of 110,664 new vehicles reported as sold was only marginally higher (up 0.4 per cent) than the same month last year, which had been affected by lockdowns due to the pandemic.
The June 2021 figure is the industry’s best sales result in 12 months, but is 13 per cent lower than the June five-year average of 127,000 deliveries from 2015 to 2019 (prior to the pandemic) – and 17.5 per cent lower than the record June result of 134,171 set in 2017.
“Each year June sees the highest number of new car sales, so from that perspective it is not a very strong month,” said James Voortman, the chief executive of the Australian Automotive Dealers Association. “However, global supply shortages have held back sales.”
The AADA, which represents more than 3000 dealers nationally, said: “Almost every brand continues to struggle to get the supply of new cars and there are many customers who have already placed an order and are waiting for their car to be delivered.”
Numerous dealers told CarAdvice they are holding a significant number of orders due to be delivered in the coming months, indicating there could be a surge in the second half of the year.
“There is still very high demand,” said Mr Voortman. “But frankly it is prudent to order as soon as possible. We sincerely hope the stock situation will improve in the coming months.”
The AADA said the semiconductor shortage is “beyond our control, which is frustrating for dealers and their customers”. “This is a complex global problem, so we will just have to be patient,” said Mr Voortman.
June 2021 was the eighth month in a row in positive territory after 31 months of decline in the lead-up to and during the peak of the global pandemic.
In a major upset, the Ford Ranger outsold the Toyota HiLux outright for only the third time ever (the previous two occasions were in September 2020 and September 2017), to become the nation’s top-selling vehicle. The Ranger and HiLux came in ahead of the Isuzu D-Max, which finished third outright for the first time ever.
The Toyota HiLux still leads the year-to-date sales race when 4x2 and 4x4 models are combined – as is industry practice – and is on track for its sixth annual win in a row.
However, the Ford Ranger leads the 4x4 ute category year-to-date, and is on track for the third win in a row and the fourth 4x4 ute category victory in five years.
Ford had a blinder in June, finishing in third place outright as a brand for the first time since October 2012 – behind market leader Toyota and second-placed Mazda, which also had a strong month.
It was an all-time monthly record for the Ford Ranger in June 2021 and the best Ford result since June 2017.
The last time Ford was in the Top Three annually was from 1998 to 2011. The last time Ford topped the sale charts outright was in 1997 after leading the market for three years in a row.
The Ford Ranger ute and Ford Everest four-wheel-drive now represent 75 per cent – or three out of every four – new cars sold by the Blue Oval brand.
In other highlights, Kia outsold its sister brand Hyundai for the second month in a row (finishing fourth and fifth respectively in June 2021).
However Hyundai leads Kia in the six-month year-to-date tally (38,634 versus 37,894).
Among the brands also affected by stock shortages, former Top 10 regular Honda slipped to 23rd outright and Jeep ranked 25th place in the June 2021 rankings.
MG continued to lead the charge among Chinese brands (which now routinely outsell cars from the USA and Germany) finishing in the Top 10 for the fourth time this year after slipping out of the Top 10 in May 2021.
Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Subaru fell just outside of the Top 10, though emerging Chinese brand Great Wall Motors Haval continued its charge up the charts finishing in 14th place, its highest ranking so far.
Demand for electric cars continued to surge (526 deliveries in June 2021 represented an increase of 198.9 per cent) and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales were also up (318 deliveries in June 2021 represented an increase of 52.9 per cent).
However hybrid technology remains the dominant option in electrified vehicles, with 5842 deliveries in June 2021 representing an increase of 37.7 per cent, the majority of which were Toyota and Lexus.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says it expects customer demand “to remain strong for the second half of 2021, which has the market on track to return to a result in excess of one million vehicles.”
A detailed list of categories and tables, compiled by CarAdvice News Team reporter William Davis, are included below.
TOP 10 CARS IN JUNE 2021
Rank | Model | Volume June 2021 | Change year-on-year |
1 | Ford Ranger | 6058 | up 13.7 per cent |
2 | Toyota HiLux | 5412 | down 17.2 per cent |
3 | Isuzu D-Max | 3167 | up 92.9 per cent |
4 | Mazda CX-5 | 3018 | up 19.3 per cent |
5 | Kia Cerato | 2711 | up 34.5 per cent |
6 | Toyota Prado | 2610 | up 9.9 per cent |
7 | Toyota RAV4 | 2501 | down 5.0 per cent |
8 | Hyundai i30 | 2331 | down 1.6 per cent |
9 | Mitsubishi Triton | 2240 | down 17.6 per cent |
10 | Toyota Corolla | 2175 | down 27.7 per cent |
TOP 10 CAR BRANDS IN JUNE 2021
Rank | Brand | Volume June 2021 | Change year-on-year |
1 | Toyota | 21,076 | down 7.8 per cent |
2 | Mazda | 12,225 | up 29.8 per cent |
3 | Ford | 8456 | up 10.9 per cent |
4 | Kia | 7890 | up 37.8 per cent |
5 | Hyundai | 7357 | down 4.9 per cent |
6 | Mitsubishi | 5641 | down 24.0 per cent |
7 | Volkswagen | 4674 | down 18.5 per cent |
8 | MG | 4303 | up 219.9 per cent |
9 | Nissan | 4036 | down 5.3 per cent |
10 | Isuzu | 3964 | up 49.2 per cent |
Passenger cars: Top Three in each segment in June 2021
Micro | Kia Picanto (788) | Fiat 500 (63) | Mitsubishi Mirage (60) |
Light < $25k | MG 3 (1227) | Mazda 2 (767) | Volkswagen Polo (607) |
Light > $25k | Mini (292) | Audi A1 (69) | Citroen C3 (18) |
Small < $40k | Kia Cerato (2711) | Hyundai i30 (2331) | Toyota Corolla (2175) |
Small > $40k | Mercedes–Benz A-Class (621) | BMW 1 Series (287) | BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe (281) |
Medium < $60k | Toyota Camry (1026) | Mazda 6 (140) | Hyundai Sonata (123) |
Medium > $60k | BMW 3 Series (578) | Mercedes-Benz C-Class (536) | Lexus IS (135) |
Large < $70k | Kia Stinger (189) | Skoda Superb (68) | |
Large > $70k | BMW 5 Series (101) | Mercedes-Benz E-Class (58) | Porsche Taycan (43) |
Upper Large < $100k | Chrysler 300 (8) | ||
Upper Large > $100k | BMW 6 Series GT (43) | Mercedes-Benz S-Class (27) | BMW 7 Series (7) |
People Movers | Kia Carnival (498) | Honda Odyssey (126) | LDV G10 Wagon (118) |
Sports < $80k | Ford Mustang (437) | Mazda MX-5 (111) | BMW 2 Series coupe/convertible (57) |
Sports > $80k | BMW 4 Series coupe/convertible (158) | Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe/convertible (128) | Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe/convertible (33) |
Sports > $200k | Porsche 911 (57) | Ferrari coupe/convertible (13) | McLaren coupe/convertible (10) |
SUVs: Top Three in each segment in JUNE 2021
Light SUV | Mazda CX-3 (1206) | Kia Stonic (745) | Hyundai Venue (681) |
Small SUV < $40k | MG ZS (2073) | Mazda CX-30 (1561) | Hyundai Kona (1410) |
Small SUV > $40k | Volvo XC40 (465) | BMW X1 (458) | Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class (445) |
Medium SUV < $60k | Mazda CX-5 (3018) | Toyota RAV4 (2501) | Hyundai Tucson (1496) |
Medium SUV > $60k | Volvo XC60 (470) | BMW X3 (459) | Audi Q5 (454) |
SUV Large < $70k | Toyota Prado (2610) | Toyota Kluger (1856) | Mazda CX-9 (836) |
SUV Large > $70k | Mercedes–Benz GLE (384) | BMW X5 (341) | Land Rover Defender (275) |
SUV Upper Large < $100k | Toyota Landcruiser Wagon (1162) | Nissan Patrol Wagon (148) | |
SUV Upper Large > $100k | Mercedes-Benz GLS (113) | Land Rover Discovery (97) | BMW X7 (89) |
Utes and vans: Top Three in each segment in JUNE 2021
Vans < 2.5t | Renault Kangoo (131) | Peugeot Partner (40) | Volkswagen Caddy (5) |
Vans 2.5t-3.5t | Toyota HiAce Van (910) | Ford Transit Custom (475) | LDV G10 (445) |
4x2 Utes | Toyota Hilux 4X2 (1112) | Isuzu Ute D-Max 4X2 (628) | Ford Ranger 4X2 (448) |
4x4 Utes | Ford Ranger 4X4 (5610) | Toyota Hilux 4X4 (4300) | Isuzu Ute D-Max 4X4 4X4 (2539) |
The market
The tally of 110,664 new cars reported as sold across Australia during June 2021 represents a 0.4 per cent increase compared to the same month last year.
Brands
Toyota remained market leader throughout June 2021 with 21,076 vehicles reported as sold, comfortably ahead of its nearest rivals Mazda (12,225) and Ford (8456).
Models
Dual cab utes once again dominated sales nationwide, representing the top three best selling models (and four of the top ten). The Ford Ranger was the best selling vehicle outright, with 6058 examples reported as sold.