VFACTS for 2014: Corolla tops the sales charts

Just 422 units separated Toyota Corolla from the second-placed Mazda3 in the 2014 sales race.

It was the Toyota that took out the top spot, according to VFACTS figures for last year – released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) – but it was a close finish, with the Corolla finding 43,735 new buyers in 2014, versus 43,313 for Mazda's small car.  

Last year was the second consecutive year the Corolla was Australia's most popular car, but it was a relative rarity among passenger cars, by selling in a larger volume than the year before, 2013.

The Australian new-car market contracted in 2014, down from 1,136,227 sales in 2013 to 1,113,224 in 2014, and there was a significant decline in passenger car sales.

There were nearly 35,000 fewer passenger cars sold last year than in 2013, but that shortfall was offset in large part by 18,786 more SUVs sold. Like passenger cars, light commercial vehicles also suffered a slump – of 6610 fewer sales for the year.

"The increase in SUV purchases is a reflection of the versatility these vehicles provide and the increasing range of these vehicles available in the market," said Tony Weber, Chief Executive for the FCAI.

"SUVs and light commercial vehicles now account for almost 50 per cent of new car sales in Australia. Passenger car sales have dropped 6.1 per cent to hold 47.8 per cent of the market."

In the top 10 for the year, only Hyundai (fourth placed) and Subaru (in ninth) sold more cars than in 2013. Mazda sold around 700 more cars to retain third place ahead of Hyundai.

During December, the total market of 96,809 actually improved on the December 2013 figure, but only by 53 whole units – nothing like enough to make up for the deficit of 23,003 sales over the course of the whole year. Sales last month were bolstered by increased SUV and light commercial vehicle purchases, year on year. But passenger cars remained behind for the month.

The top 10 car companies for the year were:

Toyota (203,501), Holden (106,092), Mazda (100,704), Hyundai (100,011), Ford (79,703), Mitsubishi (68,637), Nissan (66,025), Volkswagen (54,801), Subaru (40,502) and Honda (32,998).

The top 10 cars for year were: Toyota Corolla (43,735), Mazda3 (43,313), Toyota HiLux (38,126), Hyundai i30 (31,505), Holden Commodore (30,203), Ford Ranger (26,619), Mitsubishi Triton (24,256), Toyota Camry (22,044), Mazda CX-5 (21,571) and Volkswagen Golf (19,545).