VFACTS April: Toyota RAV4 on top as hybrids boost record market

The Toyota RAV4 has posted an all-time-record 5857 sales in a single month as the number-one auto brand pushed the entire market higher in April than it’s ever gone before.

Industry VFACTS figures released today show that Toyota racked up an emphatic 20,771 sales across its broad stable last month, marking a 72.7 per cent year-on-year increase and placing the Japanese car-maker 45.4 per cent ahead for the year to date with 77,009 sales tucked away in its red corner.

RAV4 overtook the Ford Ranger to claim bragging rights as the nation’s most popular car for the month, while three other Toyota models featured prominently among the top 10: HiLux (third, 4693), Corolla (sixth, 2097) and Camry (eighth, 1873).

The LandCruiser 300 Series (1169) and Corolla Cross (1180) also played a hand in the incredible 10,072 SUV sales Toyota piled on during April, up 85.9 per cent.

In part, the phenomenal growth reflects Toyota’s woeful sales in the early part of last year, caused by severe supply constraints on its ever-popular models that hamstrung its performance and tested the loyalty of customers – some of whom were facing a three-year wait for RAV4 Hybrid alone.

Many of those supply lines are now freeing up, and with long-overdue deliveries filtering through the dealer network, Toyota is underpinning booming sales of hybrid cars and setting the industry up for another record-breaking year overall.

Just as EV sales growth hinges on the monthly performance of Tesla, which last month fell to 13th position (2077, -43.5%) and dragged industry-wide electric vehicle sales down 5.1 per cent to 6194 units, Toyota is taking hybrid cars to new heights.

One in every two Toyotas sold in Australia are now hybrid, and last month that figure totalled almost 11,000, driving hybrid car sales across all brands to 16,466 units (+194.5%).

As a result, hybrids accounted for a significant 16.9 per cent of total new vehicle sales in Australia in April, compared to EVs (6.4%), plug-in hybrids (1.3%), diesels (29.1%) and petrol-powered cars (41.7%) – the latter still the dominant fuel type but on a migration path towards hybrid.

In all, the industry recorded its sixth successive record monthly result in April, racking up 97,202 sales – up 18.3 per cent year-on-year and increasing year-to-date growth across the first fourth months to 14.4 per cent, based on 401,654 sales.

That’s 50,515 units ahead of where we were this time last year and places the industry in uncharted territory.

In announcing today’s results, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive, Tony Weber, said: “We are witnessing a shift in consumer preferences towards more sustainable and efficient vehicles.

“April’s result highlights strong consumer confidence in purchasing new vehicles, surpassing our expectations, and is a testament to consumer choice and the industry’s resilience in a challenging economic landscape.”

SUVs (54,135, +17.6%) accounted for 55.7 per cent of all new vehicle sales last month, compared to light commercial vehicles (21,413, +25.5%) on 22.0 per cent and passenger cars (17,314, +14.0%) on 17.8 per cent.

Mid-size SUVs, led by the RAV4, is the single biggest segment and was bolstered by 21,811 sales last month (+11.4%), while utes of all description (the popular 4x2 and 4x4 utes and full-size US pick-ups) were second on 19,376 units – up 28.4 per cent thanks to a surge among diesel 4x4s like Ranger (+61.5%), HiLux (+43.0%), Isuzu D-MAX (+32.9%) and the new Mitsubishi Triton (+37.0%).

Ford consolidated second position in the marketplace behind Toyota with 8648 sales in April (+71.3%), thanks not only to Ranger (5569) but the related Everest large SUV (2400), which placed fourth behind HiLux in the top 10 models.

Mazda was third overall with more temperate growth (7301, +5.4%), maintaining an edge over Kia (6653, +7.3%) and Mitsubishi (5314, +19.7%) among the top five placegetters.

Neither Mazda nor Kia had standout individual performers, and while the Triton’s resurgence (1287) is crucial for Mitsubishi, the Outlander mid-size SUV (1848) is keeping the triple-diamond brand in a solid position amid intense competition between established and aspiring mid-tier brands.

These include Hyundai (5185, -9.5%), which stumbled heavily amid last month’s boom to take sixth, as well as Isuzu Ute (4256, +46.6%) – still a major player with D-MAX (2380) and MU-X (1876), the ute and large SUV in fifth and seventh place respectively in the top 10 last month.

Two Chinese brands finished in eighth and ninth position overall in April – MG (3781, +9.2%), which had the ZS (1701) among the nation’s top models and is seeing positive returns from heavy discounting, and GWM (3330, +50.3%), which is going from strength to strength across its burgeoning GWM Ute, Haval, Tank and Ora model lines.

Subaru rounded out the top 10 (3246, +29.3%), holding out Nissan (2905, -3.5%) and Volkswagen (2838, -4.0%).

Tesla’s fall to 13th (2077, -43.5%) stems from fewer deliveries of Model Y (1166) and Model 3 (911), although it held onto its prestige brand bragging rights – BMW (2074, +18.5%) was breathing down its neck, while Mercedes-Benz (1625, -23.7%) was further behind.

Top 10 brands (2024 year to date):

Top 10 models (April 2024):

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