VFACTS 2024: Ford Ranger still in charge in a record year

Australians bought a record 1,237,287 new vehicles in 2024, eclipsing the previous record set in 2023 by 1.7 per cent, according to figures supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and EV Council.

But industry experts are predicting a downturn as cost of living pressures pile up and competition intensifies.

Toyota was once again the top selling brand in 2024, logging a record 241,296 sales and accounting for 19.5 per cent of the market that saw sales of utes and passenger cars continue to slide.

To put it another way, roughly one in five new cars sold in Australia in 2024 was a Toyota.

And almost half of all Toyota sales – 48.9 per cent – were hybrid models in a market that saw sales of petrol-electric models boom by 75 per cent.

“This is the Australian customer speaking and they’re speaking in loud volume,” said Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia’s vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations.

“Everyday Australians are willing to move towards lower emissions vehicles when they are practical, when they are capable and above all when they’re affordable.”

The hybrid result was the headline for a solid year for electrified vehicles that included a doubling of plug-in hybrid EV sales, albeit off a low base.

Externally rechargeable hybrids accounted for 23,163 sales in 2024, a still modest 1.9 per cent of the market.

And while the recent growth in EV sales slowed in 2024, cars powered purely by electricity still grew by 4.7 per cent for the year.

That means EVs account for 7.4 per cent of Australian new vehicle sales, up from 7.2 per cent in 2023.

An easing in ute demand wasn’t enough to stop the Ford Ranger again topping the sales charts with 62,593 sales.

That’s despite a 4.3 per cent drop in overall ute sales that saw the workhorses that are increasingly used as family cars drop to their lowest market share since 2018 (18.5 per cent of the market).

An SUV was the second best selling car in the country for the first time with the Toyota RAV4 clocking up 58,718 sales.

It’s also the first time an SUV has been the top selling Toyota.

And Ford rocketed back up the sales charts with 100,170 sales to finish second overall, its best result since last leading the market in 1997 when Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores were king.

After nine years in second position, Mazda has been pushed back to the third step of the podium with 95,987 sales, a four per cent drop.

Aussies bought more cars from Japan than any other country, with 378,911 accounting for 30.6 per cent of the market, well ahead of Thailand (272,139) that sends so many utes Down Under.

Following seven years of solid growth, sales of cars sourced from China dipped slightly. But the 192,912 vehicles imported from China still accounted for 15.6 per cent of overall Australian vehicle sales.

Despite the boom year, signs of stress are showing as cost of living pressures intensify.

Vehicle sales in the second half of 2024 slid 4.6 per cent to a still healthy 604,190 vehicles.

And while fleet and government sales remain healthy, private buyers are increasingly clamping their wallets shut.

“The second half of the year showed a concerning trend with sales in the private segment falling to very low levels as interest rates and general cost of living pressures impacted Australian families,” said Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI.

Toyota Australia’s sales chief, Sean Hanley, expects that slowdown in private buyer sales to continue into 2025 and overall sales to ease as supply improves across the market.

“We think the overall market will ease marginally… mainly because of a better balance between supply and demand.

“We see a return to a more normal market environment. While cost-of-living pressures started to have an impact across the industry in the latter part of last year, we are forecasting a resilient market in 2025, around 1.175 million vehicles,” he predicted.

Top 10 selling brands for 2024

Top 10 selling cars for 2024 

Source: VFACTS, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries 

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au