Toyota HiLux tops October sales
Australian new-vehicle sales barrel towards another record this year as October sales increase by 12 per centToyota’s evergreen HiLux was Australia’s top-selling vehicle bar none again in October, when total industry sales increased by 12.2 per cent to 95,584 vehicles
With 918,258 vehicles sold in the first 10 months of 2012, total sales are 9.7 per cent ahead of last year’s figures and equate to a seasonally adjusted annualised running rate of 1.1 million vehicles, which would be an all-time Australian sales record.
While 4x2 HiLux sales are down 8.4 per cent so far this year, 4x4 HiLux sales continue to ride the mining boom to be up more than 20 per cent, with 3403 combined sales last month enough to beat Toyota’s own Camry (3379) and the Mazda3 (3342).
The Mazda3 last year broke the Holden Commodore’s 15-year run as Australia’s favourite vehicle – and became the first Japanese car to top the nation’s annual sales charts – and so far this year it has found 35,776 buyers to remain number.
HiLux remains second with 34,467 sales – just 1309 behind the Mazda – after top-selling in six of the last 10 months and getting to within about 60 sales of the Mazda3 in October, setting up an enthralling two-month sales battle between the big one-tonner and the small passenger car.
The fourth best selling vehicle in October was Toyota’s once-dominant Corolla, which found 2977 homes in the same month the 11th generation was launched, while Hyundai’s direct rival for both the Corolla and Mazda3, the new i30, was fifth with 2898 sales – outselling the Commodore for the third time this year.
Commodore sedan/wagon was outside the top five with 2449 sales to be down 26.6 per cent for the year, followed by Volkswagen’s Golf (2436), Holden’s Cruze (2251), Ford’s Ranger (2126) and Nissan’s Navara (2124), making it three utes in the top 10 – but no Ford Falcon.
Toyota’s fleet-friendly Camry outsold the Commodore for only the second time ever last month and all but three Toyota models have posted sales increases so far this year, giving the Japanese brand a lead of 8345 sales or 8.7 market share points over Holden in the 2012 sales race – 19.4 per cent to just 10.4.
Mazda was third again last month with a record 7738 vehicle sales and remains third overall with 85,600 sales – just 2733 short of its all-time annual sales record of 88,333 set in 2011 – and a 9.3 per cent market share.
While Toyota sales are up 19.6 per cent in 2012 as it recovers from supply constraints in the wake of last year’s Japanese tsunami and Thai floods, Mazda is up 17.3 per cent and Holden is down 9.9 per cent.
Hyundai remains fourth with an 8.3 per cent share, ahead of Ford (8.1), Nissan (7.1), which achieved its sixth consecutive monthly sales record in October, Mitsubishi (5.4), Volkswagen (5.0), Subaru (3.7) and Honda (3.1).
While passenger car sales increased 3.7 per cent last month and light commercial vehicles lifted by 19.7 per cent, SUVs again posted the biggest sales growth of 26.2 per cent.
Ford Australia’s Territory came within 30 sales of Toyota’s all-conquering Prado in the mainstream large SUV segment last month, with 1227 October sales and 12,459 annual sales giving it a 16 per cent sales increase year-to-date and making it the fourth best selling SUV overall in 2012 behind the Prado (14,496), Nissan X-Trail (13,681) and Mazda CX-5 (12,718).
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