VFACTS for 2013: Corolla Conquest in record-breaking market
Toyota's small car breaks through to top spot finallyAustralian buyers have chosen the Toyota Corolla as the country's most popular car for 2013.
The Corolla, Toyota's best-known nameplate in Australia, sold 43,498 units last year, according to VFACTS figures released today. It's a first for Toyota, despite selling passenger cars locally since the late 1950s. And according to the company's Executive Director of Sales and Marketing, Tony Cramb, there's further special significance in the milestone, elevating Toyota to the exclusive ranks of just four manufacturers who have marketed Australia's top-selling car over the past 60 years.
"Today, Toyota writes a new page in Australia's automotive history," Cramb told journalists attending a media event held jointly by Toyota and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. But the glory may be short-lived, if Mazda can reacquire the number one position with its new Mazda3, due to go on sale in February. The run-out Mazda3 was less than 1500 units behind the hard-charging Corolla.
According to Cramb, last year was good for Toyota across the board in retail sales, with the HiLux topping its segment and selling close to 40,000 units in 2013. Camry retains the prime position in the medium passenger vehicle segment, albeit with an 8.7 per cent decline, year on year. In a segment fragmented by major new rivals, the Camry improved its market share, despite seeing sales drop from 27,230 in 2012 to 24,860 last year.
And while the VFACTS news is a boost for Toyota, the big news is yet to come - the decision to continue building the Camry at Altona, due around the middle of 2014. That decision will be played out against a backdrop of fighting Toyota's own unionised workforce in the courts, and announcements by the two other local manufacturers, Holden and Ford, that they will not continue building cars in Australia beyond 2016 in Ford's case, and 2017 for Holden.
The total market last year, was 1,136,277 new vehicles, VFACTS has reported. Toyota has accounted for 214,630 of those sales, over 102,000 clear of second-placed Holden, on 112,059.
Other retail highpoints for 2013 include:
- Alfa Romeo enjoying its best year since 2002 -- the relatively small tally of 2373 vehicles sold marking a 162 per cent gain on 2012,
- Audi sales growing by 10 per cent over 2012 to take the brand above 16,000 units for the year, and achieving its 15,000 sales target two years earlier than expected,
- BMW sales climbing 11.5 per cent, year on year, to 20,522 units, a new record for the brand,
- Chrysler 300 more than doubling its sales from 1206 to 2508, contributing the lion's share of the brand's 2676 sales for the year,
- Fiat's sales volume for the year (5088 units, combining passenger and commercial vehicles) tripling the volume for 2012,
- Honda sales ramping up by 9.6 per cent to 39,258,
- Isuzu Ute watching sales pick up by 31.2 per cent to 10,209,
- Hyundai retaining fourth spot, behind Toyota, Holden and Mazda, with six per cent growth on last year, taking the total to 97,006; December was the 19th consecutive month of sales growth for the brand -- and the 17th consecutive monthly sales record,
- Jeep's total sales reaching 22,170 for the year, a lift of 23 per cent, and the Grand Cherokee posting over 10,000 sales for the first time in one year,
- Mercedes-Benz setting a new record for prestige brands in Australia, posting a sales volume of 23,106,
- Mitsubishi notching up 71,528 sales, a new 'personal best' for the brand as a full-line importer, and a 21.5 per cent gain on the previous year's figure,
- Renault setting a new sales record, selling 7016 vehicles in 2013 -- a 40 per cent improvement over 2012 and the highest number since the brand's return to the country in 2001,
- Subaru cracking 40,000 sales again (40,189 in 2012, 40,200 in 2013), to set a new record based on the strong performance of the Forester and XV models.
Top selling brands for 2013 were: Toyota (214,630), Holden (112,059), Mazda (103,144), Hyundai (97,006), Ford (87,236), Nissan (76,733), Mitsubishi (71,528), Volkswagen (54,892), Subaru (40,200) and Honda (39,258). Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Subaru and Honda increased sales for the year, and Subaru overtook Honda for ninth position as a consequence of strong sales in December.
The 10 best selling cars for the year were: Toyota Corolla (43,498), Mazda3 (42,082), Toyota Hilux (39,931), Hyundai i30 (30,582), Holden Commodore (27,766), Toyota Camry (24,860), Mitsubishi Triton (24,512), Holden Cruze (24,421), Nissan Navara (24,108), Ford Ranger (21,752).
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