VFACTS March 2022: New-car sales rebound in March, Toyota HiLux posts record, Ford Ranger hits the brakes
New-car sales in Australia showed signs of recovery for the second month in a row – after four months in reverse – but dealers are still grappling with chronic stock shortages and delivery delays.
Deliveries of new motor vehicles improved in March for the second month in a row – after four months of slowdowns – but waiting times for popular models continue to extend from three to 12 months.
Official new-car sales data for March 2022 showed 101,233 new motor vehicles were reported as sold – the strongest March result in four years but 5.4 per cent down on the March record set in 2018, two years before the global pandemic.
The modest sales spike of 1.2 per cent compared to the same month the previous year was driven by dealers filling orders for new vehicles placed over the past year.
The waiting times for most new cars remains anywhere from three to 12 months, and dealers and car companies are now providing broader estimates to avoid customer disappointment.
Interruptions to production, combined with shipping constraints – there are now on average four car-carrying ships docking in Australia each week rather than eight – continue to blow-out waiting times.
In many instances, car companies have stopped providing estimates on delivery times because the information can quickly become out of date.
Instead, car dealers are waiting until the vehicle arrives in their showrooms before advising customers of a collection date.
The lack of transparency – or “forward visibility," as the industry describes it – has frustrated customers and dealers.
Customers want to know when their new car is due; dealers don’t get paid until the vehicle is delivered.
“This is a unique time in which supply rather than demand is determining the size of the market,” Tony Weber, the chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, said in a media statement.
“This is due to manufacturers recovering from the pandemic-related shutdowns, and the ongoing global shortage of (semiconductors).”
Demand for new cars remains strong, however “manufacturers are working hard to match this demand with supply.”
Meantime, there has been a major upset at the top of the sales charts.
The Ford Ranger slipped outside the Top Three for the second month in a row, as Ford sells down stock of the runout model ahead of the new generation due mid-year.
The Toyota HiLux was the top-selling vehicle outright for the third month in a row and posted a March sales record – with 6324 deliveries, just shy of its all-time record of 6537 set in June 2020.
It was also an all-time high result for 4x4 variants of the Toyota HiLux (4911 versus the previous record of 4811 set in June 2020).
The Mitsubishi Triton ute ranked inside the Top Four on the sales charts for the third month in a row, after a massive shipment of vehicles arrived.
Indeed, the Mitsubishi Triton posted a March record last month (3808), though it was shy of its all-time monthly sales record of 4124 set in June 2014. March was also an all-time record for the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport.
Two passenger cars made it inside the Top 10 – the Hyundai i30 and Toyota Corolla – after only one passenger car appeared in the Top 10 in February 2022 for the first time in recorded history.
All other vehicles inside the Top 10 were utes or SUVs.
Demand for electric cars continues to climb at a rapid rate, up by 141 per cent compared to the same month last year – excluding Tesla which did not provide a monthly breakdown for March this year versus last year.
Including Tesla – which now provides sales data to official industry scorekeepers – so far this year 6752 electric vehicles have been reported as sold in Australia, or 2.6 per cent of the 262,436 new motor vehicles delivered in the first three months of 2022.
Sales of petrol-electric hybrid cars – largely driven by market leader Toyota – continue to set records, up 27.6 per cent year-to-date with 20,585 reported as sold in the first three months of 2022.
Hybrid cars now account for approximately one third of new Toyotas sold in Australia.
Sales of petrol cars (135,504) have declined by 11.8 per cent – in line with the fall in sales of conventional passenger cars (down 9.7 per cent) – in the first three months of this year.
Reflecting the boom in sales of utes, vans, and four-wheel-drives, deliveries of diesel vehicles (89,114) have outpaced market growth, increasing by 6.5 per cent from January through March 2022.
Data below supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, and compiled by Drive news journalist William Davis.
TOP 10 CARS IN March 2022
Rank | Model | Volume March 2022 | Change year-on-year |
1 | Toyota HiLux | 6324 | up 18.9 per cent |
2 | Toyota RAV4 | 4610 | up 30.9 per cent |
3 | Mitsubishi Triton | 3808 | up 52.8 per cent |
4 | Mazda CX-5 | 3772 | up 24.8 per cent |
5 | Ford Ranger | 2960 | down 25.7 per cent |
6 | Hyundai i30 | 2455 | down 2.3 per cent |
7 | Isuzu D-Max | 2447 | up 22.7 per cent |
8 | Toyota Prado | 2230 | up 84.1 per cent |
9 | Toyota Corolla | 1924 | down 33.5 per cent |
10 | Mazda CX-30 | 1829 | up 49.3 per cent |
TOP 10 CAR BRANDS IN March 2022
Rank | Brand | Volume March 2022 | Change year-on-year |
1 | Toyota | 21,828 | up 2.4 per cent |
2 | Mazda | 11,248 | up 4.3 per cent |
3 | Mitsubishi | 9007 | up 40.1 per cent |
4 | Hyundai | 6516 | down 4.9 per cent |
5 | Kia | 6051 | up 4.3 per cent |
6 | Ford | 4245 | down 29.0 per cent |
7 | MG | 3962 | up 20.0 per cent |
8 | Isuzu | 3306 | up 4.2 per cent |
9 | Nissan | 3168 | down 30.5 per cent |
10 | Volkswagen | 2832 | down 15.7 per cent |
Passenger cars: Top Three in each segment in March 2022
Micro | Kia Picanto (374) | Mitsubishi Mirage (122) | Fiat 500 (74) |
Light < $25k | MG 3 (1528) | Suzuki Baleno (958) | Mazda 2 (328) |
Light > $25k | Audi A1 (81) | Mini (71) | Citroen C3 (16) |
Small < $40k | Hyundai i30 (2455) | Toyota Corolla (1924) | Kia Cerato (1238) |
Small > $40k | Mercedes–Benz A-Class (365) | Audi A3 (141) | BMW 1 Series (109) |
Medium < $60k | Toyota Camry (920) | Skoda Octavia (197) | Mazda 6 (147) |
Medium > $60k | BMW 3 Series (335) | Mercedes–Benz CLA (203) | Mercedes–Benz C-Class (192) |
Large < $70k | Kia Stinger (236) | Skoda Superb (73) | |
Large > $70k | Porsche Taycan (75) | Mercedes–Benz E-Class (47) | BMW 5 Series (29) |
Upper Large < $100k | Chrysler 300 (18) | ||
Upper Large > $100k | Mercedes-Benz S-Class (20) | Porsche Panamera (6) | BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS (5) |
People Movers | Kia Carnival (530) | Hyundai Staria (233) | Honda Odyssey (104) |
Sports < $80k | Ford Mustang (117) | BMW 2 Series coupe/convertible (68) | Subaru BRZ (65) |
Sports > $80k | BMW 4 Series coupe/convertible (73) | Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe/convertible (70) | Audi A5 (18) |
Sports > $200k | Porsche 911 (61) | Ferrari range (20) | Bentley Continental (10) |
SUVs: Top Three in each segment in March 2022
Light SUV | Mazda CX-3 (931) | Hyundai Venue (759) | Toyota Yaris Cross, Kia Stonic (734) |
Small SUV < $40k | Mazda CX-30 (1829) | MG ZS (1756) | Hyundai Kona (1246) |
Small SUV > $40k | Volvo XC40 (451) | Audi Q3 (416) | Mercedes-Benz GLA (278) |
Medium SUV < $60k | Toyota RAV4 (4610) | Mazda CX-5 (3772) | Mitsubishi Outlander (1619) |
Medium SUV > $60k | Mercedes-Benz GLC (635) | Lexus NX (474) | Volvo XC60 (451) |
SUV Large < $70k | Toyota Prado (2230) | Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (1669) | Subaru Outback (1187) |
SUV Large > $70k | Range Rover Sport (267) | BMW X5 (220) | Land Rover Defender (200) |
SUV Upper Large < $100k | Nissan Patrol wagon (918) | Toyota LandCruiser wagon (844) | |
SUV Upper Large > $100k | BMW X7 (68) | Mercedes-Benz GLS (46) | Audi Q8 (27) |
Utes and vans: Top Three in each segment in March 2022
Vans < 2.5t | Renault Kangoo (185) | Volkswagen Caddy (80) | Peugeot Partner (35) |
Vans 2.5t-3.5t | Toyota HiAce Van (802) | Hyundai Staria Load (304) | LDV G10/G10+ (285) |
4x2 Utes | Toyota HiLux 4x2 (1413) | Isuzu D-Max 4x2 (744) | Mazda BT-50 (422) |
4x4 Utes | Toyota HiLux 4x4 (4911) | Mitsubishi Triton 4x4 (3446) | Ford Ranger 4x4 (2443) |