VFACTS 2020: Market recovers after horror year

Sales of new vehicles in Australia last year were the lowest in almost two decades, falling 13.7 per cent to 916,968 units as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the market.

COVID-19 struck as the industry was continuing to grapple with an unbroken two-year run of negative monthly results blamed on a variety of environmental, economic and regulatory factors, from bushfires and drought to slow wages growth, poor exchange rates and tougher financial lending practices.

But last year’s result, which saw annual new vehicle sales fall below one million for the first time since 2009, when Australia was in the midst of the global financial crisis, could have been much worse and industry representatives now see a positive road ahead.

VFACTS figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show that 95,652 vehicles were sold in December, marking a 13.5 per increase on the corresponding month a year earlier and the second successive month of double-digit growth after 12.4 per cent was recorded in November.

This is a massive turnaround from , when sales plummeted 48.5 per cent and pushed the market down beyond 20 per cent.

All states and territories recorded sales growth in December as buyers flocked to top-selling brands such as the runaway market leader Toyota, along with Mazda, Hyundai and Ford.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber told carsales today that the rallying performance in the final quarter of the year reflected more than simply short-term pent-up demand.

“The indications are really quite strong that we’ve got a trend of improvement in the marketplace,” he told us.

“People’s confidence is growing as we are getting closer and closer to a vaccine. I think the market will be stronger (in 2021); this is an artificially low market. This is the lowest market since 2003.

“So I think that, yes, there is a lot of pent-up demand but a lot of that is because people put their hands back in their pockets earlier in the year with the uncertainty.

“As there’s more clarity and certainty moving forward, there’s more optimism because they’ve seen what a good job various governments around Australia have done in managing both the pandemic and the economic response to it.

“I think people are naturally coming around to the decision it is the right to for me to buy and I will move on because there is confidence on a whole raft of levels,” he said.

Toyota led from the front, finding 35.5 per cent growth in December to finish the year almost lineball with 2019 – down just 0.5 per cent with 204,801 sales across the full 12 months.

The numbers speak for themselves. It was the 18th year in a row that Toyota has been number one, it crushed all other brands in every state and territory, sold twice as many vehicles than any other brand for the third year running and its 22.3 per cent market share was its highest since 2008.

Toyota also had the top-selling vehicle in the major categories. The Toyota HiLux (45,176 units) was the biggest-selling vehicle overall for the fifth straight year – and the nation’s most popular commercial vehicle for the 23rd year in a row – while RAV4 (38,537) was Australia’s best-selling SUV for the first time (knocking off the Mazda CX-5) and Corolla (25,882) the number-one passenger car for the fifth year in a row.

Mazda was in its accustomed second position, rallying to 85,640 sales last year that still left it 12.3 per cent behind compared to 2019, while Hyundai held onto third position despite taking a 24.7 per cent hit that saw its volume reduced to 64,807 units.

Ford (59,601) finished the year in fourth position and only 5.8 per cent in arrears, owing everything to the Aussie-developed Ford Ranger (40,973) that retained its spot as the top-selling 4x4 ute with 37,889 sales.

Rounding out the top five was Mitsubishi (58,335) which fell 29.9 per cent last year but still managed to stave off Kia (56,076, -8.8%).

With Holden (16,688) leaving the market, and Honda (29,040) struggling, Mercedes-Benz Cars slotted into the top 10 and held its accustomed position as the leading premium brand with 29,455 sales, down 7.9 per cent for the year.

BMW held firm in the face of the pandemic, its 23,520 sales being 0.5 per cent higher than the previous year, while Audi also defied the odds, finishing with 15,860 sales (+1.0%).

Other strong performers last year were, as we’ve reported before, the Chinese brands led by MG, which found a record 15,253 buyers last year for a phenomenal growth rate of 83.2 per cent. LDV finished with 9323 sales (+43.9%), Haval 3294 (+93.1%) and Great Wall 1941 (+38.5%).

Among individual segments, SUVs dominated the market, accounting for 49.6 per cent of all vehicles sold in Australia last year, while passenger cars continued to shrink with only a 24.2 per cent share – just ahead of light commercial vehicles (22.4%) which look certain move up a notch in 2021.

Light and small SUVs were among the best performers with growth of 14.5 and 1.3 per cent respectively in the tough market, while upper-large SUVs, led by the Toyota LandCruiser, were also up 9.3 per cent.

With that said, mid-size SUVs remain Australia’s most popular segment bar none, still racking up 179,722 sales (-10.8%).

That 26.5 per cent of all Toyota vehicles sold last year had a hybrid powertrain – including 68.5 per cent of all Toyota RAV4s – also points to remarkable growth in hybrid vehicle sales recorded across the industry last year, with 60,417 sales representing a 93.7 per cent upturn.

Electric vehicles – not including the market-leading Tesla brand, which does not report its figures – amounted to 1769 sales (+16.2%), while 1685 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) were also sold (+18.2%).

Top 10 brands in 2020:
Toyota – 204,801
Mazda – 85,640
Hyundai – 64,807
Ford – 59,601
Mitsubishi – 58,335
Kia – 56,076
Volkswagen – 39,266
Nissan – 38,323
Subaru –31,501
Mercedes-Benz Cars – 29,455

Top 10 vehicles in 2020:
Toyota HiLux – 45,176
Ford Ranger – 40,973
Toyota RAV4 – 38,537
Toyota Corolla – 25,882
Toyota LandCruiser – 25,142
Mazda CX-5 – 21,979
Hyundai i30 – 20,734
Mitsubishi Triton – 18,136
Toyota Prado – 18,034
Kia Cerato – 17,559