Top five new-car sales surprises in 2021

Every month, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) releases sales figures that reveal the new-vehicle buying habits of Australians.

And, at the end of each year, we scour through the VFACTS data to get a better understanding of what’s hot and what’s not in the world of new-car sales.

Suffice to say, there’s usually some surprising discoveries buried in all that information.

So, without further ado, here are five things we learnt from 2021 – a year that brought great success for several manufacturers despite global supply shortages and numerous other COVID-19-related setbacks.

The writing has been on the wall for some time but now that it’s finally happened, it still comes as a shock.

Ute (and SUV) sales have been flourishing Down Under for several years now and the crescendo arrived in 2021, when ute sales officially toppled those of all passenger cars combined by 789 vehicles.

That includes both 4x2 and 4x4 utes, with the top-selling Toyota HiLux at number one, followed closely by the Ford Ranger.

What’s more, of the top 10 selling models in 2021, almost half were utes and only two were passenger cars.

Click here for the full list of results.

Of course, SUVs remain the dominant new-vehicle type, accounting for 531,700 sales (up 16.9%) and more than 50 per cent of the new-vehicle market for the first time, ahead of light commercials (253,254; up 23.2%) and passenger cars (221,556; down 0.2%).

It’s no secret China is not only the world’s most populous nation but the world’s biggest auto market.

And, in case you’ve been living under rock, a large portion of our possessions – including cars – are manufactured there, too.

But did you know that in 2021, China overtook Germany and the US for the first time to become Australia’s fourth most popular country of origin for new cars?

According to VFACTS data, 76,262 vehicles sold in Australia last year were built in the Middle Kingdom – more than double that of the previous year.

Just five years ago in 2016, China was in 22nd position, with only 2927 of new cars sold Down Under built there.

The surge in Chinese vehicle sales is thanks to the introduction of cut-price brands including MG, LDV, GWM and Haval.

With strong sales in multiple categories, MG was the top-performing Chinese brand, cementing its position among the top-10 brands in ninth by selling a total of 39,025 new vehicles. Of those, the majority of sales went to the ZS small SUV.

But the actual number of Chinese-made cars sold in Australia is even bigger than officially reported, because Tesla doesn’t reveal its sales figures and its biggest seller, the Model 3, now comes to Australia from China.

And with seven more Chinese brands on the launchpad for Australia, there’s no end in sight for this trend.

Volvo.

The Swedish car-maker recorded a new high of 9028 registrations in 2021 – a 17.2 per cent improvement compared to 2020 – despite stock shortages and widespread COVID restrictions.

While sales of Volvo’s traditional passenger models declined significantly last year, the popularity of all three of its SUVs – XC40, XC60 and XC90 – boomed.

Overall, while BMW sold 24,891 vehicles (up 5.8%), Mercedes-Benz retained luxury market leadership despite suffering a 3.8 per cent decrease to 28,348 sales, and its commercial van division plunged 30.9 per cent.

The very top end of the market also saw solid growth, with Aston Martin, Bentley, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren and Rolls-Royce all doing considerably well for themselves.

Rolls-Royce achieved its best year of sales in 117 years globally, delivering a total of 5586 cars to affluent customers around the world, including 48 in Australia – up 14 per cent.

Aston posted the biggest sales increase at 52 per cent thanks to its new DBX, but its 140 sales were eclipsed by Maserati (560; up 19.9%) and Bentley (219; up 32.7%), with Lambo (131; up 18.0%) and McLaren (88; up 39.7%) not far behind.

On the other hand, Ferrari was 5.4 per cent or 11 cars down compared to 2020. But don’t worry, the Italian supercar-maker still managed to offload 194 cars, even without an SUV in its line-up!

Environmentalists and greenies better hold their breath for this one, because it was full steam – or shall we say particulates and carbon monoxide – ahead for the sales of new diesel-powered vehicles in 2021.

Diesel vehicle registrations rose a whopping 19.2 per cent last year, following sales increases across several segments including passenger cars (+38.5%), light commercial vehicles (+23.5%) and SUVs (9.7%).

The tally of 346,990 sales for diesel cars – which doesn’t include heavy commercial vehicles – was also a good deal higher than in 2019 (before the coronavirus pandemic struck), which is a stark statistic alongside the increasing boom in demand, availability and awareness of electric vehicles in Australia.

Excluding Tesla, the biggest seller of EVs both worldwide and in Australia, there were 5149 electric cars sold in 2021 – a 191 per cent increase on 2020 – but this still only represents 0.5 per cent of total new vehicle sales (not including heavy commercials).

By comparison, diesel car sales last year made up 34.5 per cent of total sales, while regular petrol power remained the dominant fuel type at 57.7 per cent.