VFACTS April: New car sales hit all-time record
Ford Ranger beats Toyota HiLux to become Australia’s top-selling model last monthAustralians are driving out of new vehicle showrooms in record numbers, primarily in utes and SUVs, as improving economic conditions and stable COVID-19 case numbers stimulate unprecedented demand.
An all-time record of 92,347 new vehicles were sold in April, marking the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year growth after the slump across most of 2020 as a direct result of the global pandemic.
Last month’s result was always going to be positive compared to April 2020, when vehicle sales fell off a cliff as dealerships closed and Australians adhered to government directives to stay at home.
But few could have predicted that pent-up demand would be this great, and that after only four months of trading the car industry would be not only be 30.7 per cent ahead of where it was at the same point last year, but 3.5 per cent ahead of the pre-pandemic January-to-April 2019 period.
Many leading brands could have sold more cars last month, too, but were restricted by limited supply due in part to a global semiconductor shortage.
Leading the charge in April was the Ford Ranger, which with 5021 sales outgunned the Toyota HiLux (4222, slipping to third) and the Toyota RAV4 (4506, in second) to be Australia’s biggest-selling model bar none.
It’s only the third time ever that the Blue Oval brand’s Australian-developed ute has topped the overall market in a single month (following September 2017 and 2020), and it helped light commercial vehicles to a phenomenal 21,714 total sales in April – and to just shy of 82,000 for the year to date.
As well as Ranger and HiLux, there were two other utes among the top 10 models last month – Mitsubishi Triton (2458) and Isuzu D-MAX (1999) – while most other positions went to SUVs of various shapes and sizes, reflecting widespread general demand for the high-riding models that in total racked up 49,176 sales in April.
Indeed, SUVs now account for 52 per cent of all new vehicle sales in Australia, with more than 185,000 delivered to customers so far this year.
The RAV4 might be the dominant player, but the frenzy surrounding the last remaining stock of the Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series continues to push up numbers for the evergreen 4x4 off-roader at 2595 units last month – or 3177 units with 70 Series included.
This underscores Toyota’s sheer dominance of the market, its 20,208 sales in April more than double that of the next-best Mazda (10,052), while Mitsubishi (7513) returned to the podium for April, and for the year to date, as Hyundai (5772) managed only fifth position last month.
The Mitsubishi ASX was the top-selling small SUV in April with 2028 sales and has returned to the top of the strong-selling segment this year, deposing the MG ZS which remains a solid contender as the Chinese brand continues to make significant inroads into the market.
MG recorded 3007 overall sales last month to bring its YTD total to 11,735 units, cementing its position among the top 10 brands and keeping it within striking distance of big-name players such as Volkswagen (12,212), Subaru (13,525) and Nissan (15,639).
Fellow Chinese car-maker GWM (which includes the Haval brand) reported 1337 sales – more than Suzuki (1308) and helped by 627 GWM Ute sales – while LDV was close behind on 1086 for the month.
Among the premium brands, BMW (2153) managed to topple Mercedes-Benz (2151) by just a couple of cars, while Audi was further back on 1281 units.
Keeping a watching brief on other key market segments, there were 286 electric vehicles sold last month – not including Tesla, which keeps its figures to itself – plus 248 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), bringing the year-to-date total to 1255 EVs and 877 PHEVs.
Combined, the 2132 combined EV/PHEV sales represent 0.6 per cent of all new vehicles sold this year (355,995), as reported through VFACTS.
Regular hybrids, on the other hand, are at 23,711 units YTD after more than 7500 were driven out of showrooms last month, which is a 6.7 per cent share.
Top 10 brands (2021 year to date):
Toyota – 76,721
Mazda – 37,667
Mitsubishi – 25,324
Hyundai – 24,827
Ford – 22,934
Kia – 22,880
Nissan – 15,639
Subaru – 13,525
Volkswagen – 12,212
MG – 11,735
Top 10 vehicles (April 2021):
Ford Ranger – 5021
Toyota RAV4 – 4506
Toyota HiLux – 4222
Toyota LandCruiser – 3177
Mitsubishi Triton – 2458
Mazda CX-5 – 2353
Toyota Corolla – 2073
Mitsubishi ASX – 2028
Hyundai i30 – 2005
Isuzu D-MAX – 1999
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