VFACTS November: 4WDs boom as Toyota RAV4 tops sales charts

Toyota’s RAV4 has topped the sales chart for the fifth consecutive month, all but guaranteeing the mid-sized SUV will be the top-selling Toyota for the year, a first for the brand.

The 5526 RAV4 hybrid sales were followed by three off-roaders – the Ford Ranger (4981) and Toyota Hilux (3572) utes and new Prado SUV (3590) – that dominated the top of the November sales charts.

However, the November sales numbers logged an 11.6 per cent decline across the market, according to figures supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

Of the top 10 selling models, six – the Ranger, Prado, Hilux, Ford Everest, Isuzu D-Max and Toyota LandCruiser – were either dedicated off-roaders or utes or SUVs that include 4x4 models as the bulk of their sales.

Toyota again topped the market with 20,562 sales, accounting for 20.8 per cent of the 99,091 monthly sales, according to FCAI figures.

Once sales of Tesla and Polestar are included – the two EV brands stopped reporting figures to the FCAI earlier this year – the drop is not as dramatic, the 101,707 total sales representing a decline of 9.3 per cent.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says cost of living pressures are impacting the vehicle market, which declined 8.2 per cent in the second half of the year.

“The private buyer segment continues to struggle with a decline of 16.6 per cent on November 2023,” says Weber.

“This follows falls of 14.2 per cent in October, 17.2 per cent in September and 15.9 per cent in August. This is a disturbing trend which illustrates how cost of living pressures are impacting households.”

However, the industry remains on track to set an all-time sales record in 2024.

And despite headlines to the contrary, EVs are holding onto a slim 3.1 per cent sales growth compared with the first 11 months of 2023.

SUVs accounted for 61.2 per cent of November sales, with light (up 15.6 per cent) and small SUVs (up 4.1 per cent) accounting for the bulk of the 5.6 per cent growth across the high-riding wagon category.

Despite the boom in Chinese brands (Chery was up 114 per cent for the month and BYD 23.5 per cent), declines by LDV (down 33.6 per cent), MG (down 9.5 per cent) and GWM (down 3.1 per cent) meant sales of Chinese made vehicles slid.

However, factor in the Tesla and Polestar numbers – each is sourced from China – and sales of Chinese-made cars were down only 6.8 per cent.

That’s nowhere near as dramatic as Thailand – down 21.3 per cent – which supplies so many of the utes sold in Australia.

The top end of town fared well in November, with Porsche sales up 38 per cent, Ferrari up 22 per cent and Rolls-Royce booming 40 per cent. But the latter is based off tiny numbers; it sold seven cars last month versus five in November 2023.

Regular luxury brands had a tougher time.

BMW sales were down 17.0 per cent, Mercedes-Benz down 23.6 per cent, Audi down 29.9 per cent and Lexus down 2.8 per cent.

Volkswagen’s sales drop continued, the brand down 19.7 per cent in November while Mazda (down 12.9 per cent), Subaru (down 21.5 per cent), Nissan (down 21.5 per cent, Hyundai (down 16.6 per cent) and Honda (down 56.5 per cent) also experienced downturns.

Kia was a rare shining light among big name brands, up 11.1 per cent, while Ford’s strong Ranger and Everest sales – accounting for 89 per cent of the brand’s total sales – led to an increase of 6.8 per cent for the month.

It comes in a month that saw pent-up demand for the new Toyota Prado log 3590 sales, around triple the typical running rate for the large off-roader.

That’s due to the arrival of an all-new model, which comes after months of no stock of its predecessor.

Despite the second-half sales dip, 2024 is on track to be an all-time sales record.

Adding the FCAI figures to Tesla and Polestar sales sees the industry so far selling 1,137,712 vehicles in the first 11 months, an increase of 1.7 per cent over 2023.

The industry would only need to shift 79,160 vehicles in December to break the record 1,216,780 vehicles sold in 2023.

Given December typically yields upwards of 80,000 sales each year – in 2023 there were 98,544 – there’s every chance Australia will be celebrating another vehicle sales record early in the new year.

But given the recent drop in enquiries and sales there’s every chance the Champagne corks won’t be popping quite as fervently.

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