VFACTS November: Ford v Toyota in battle of the utes
It’s lineball as industry giants slug it out for top spot, while evergreen hatchback outsells SUV rivalsToyota and Ford will scrap it out for top-selling vehicle honours in the VFACTS new-car sales race for the foreseeable future, thanks to the undiminished love of utes in the hearts of Aussie buyers.
It was the turn of Toyota to wrest top spot back for November 2022, when the Toyota HiLux claimed overall honours with 5440 sales against the resurgent Ford Ranger’s tally of 5073.
The Blue Oval actually sold more 4x4 versions of its new Ford Ranger (versus HiLux 4x4s) last month, but a strong performance in the fleet-driven 4x2 sub-category gave the overall win to Toyota.
The evergreen Toyota Corolla was a distant third in the race with 3732 sales, while the MG ZS small SUV vaulted up the charts with 3051 sales recorded (almost double its November 2021 tally).
The Toyota LandCruiser (2296) and RAV4 (2282) kept the party going for the Japanese manufacturer, while the Mazda CX-5 (1949) and Mitsubishi Outlander (1875) continued their strong run of form.
The Kia Sportage (1844) was another to benefit from the improved supply of new cars, slotting into ninth ahead of the Tesla Model Y electric SUV, which rounded out the top 10 with 1805 sales noted for November.
Speaking of alternate energy vehicles, more than 13,000 were sold in November alone, with 3519 electric passenger cars and 3740 SUVs marking year-on-year increases of 769 per cent and 408 per cent, respectively.
The hybrid market – driven largely by Toyota – is up nine per cent in the passenger car and around 28 per cent in the SUV spaces year-on-year.
However, sales of plug-in hybrids are not keeping pace. Just 26 PHEV passenger cars and 403 PHEV SUVs were sold in November across all brands.
Overall, the easing of stock issues for some of the major players resulted in an almost 20 per cent jump in national sales over November 2021, with 95,080 registrations recorded across Australia.
Toyota still leads the way in year-to-date sales, with more than 214,000 vehicles registered. Mazda has eased away in the race for silver, with 87,218 sales being some 15,000 units better than Kia (72,700), which is under fire from Mitsubishi (72,064), which is only a handful of sales off the podium.
Hyundai (68,911) lies in fifth place comfortably ahead of Ford (60,463), while MG (44,388) will lock in seventh for the year, posting yet another record for the brand.
The giant-killing Isuzu UTE (32,818) will do well to hang onto eighth ahead of a fast-finishing Subaru (31,965) , while Volkswagen (27,887) will be pleased to see the back end of 2022 after a difficult year supply-wise.
Though most categories are still in recovery mode from poor supply through 2022, medium passenger car sales are up 21 per cent year on year, thanks to strong performances from Polestar (240 sales for the 2) and the Tesla Model 3 (391 sales), as well as the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class (284 sales).
Light SUVs are holding steady year to year, with the Mazda CX-3 enjoying improved supply to romp home a clear winner with 1207 sales.
MG’s ZS (3051) almost tripled the sales of the once-dominant Mitsubishi ASX (1037), itself off 12 per cent year on year.
The electric BYD Atto3 jumped into the medium SUV fray for the first time in November, logging 845 sales to finish ninth in class, while the Mazda CX-5 surged 11 per cent month-on-month with 1949 sales.
Large SUVs went not the way of the Toyota Prado, which still leads the class YTD, but the new Ford Everest (1312), which narrowly saw off the Isuzu MU-X (1218) in a clear sign that customers are looking for rugged and off-road-ready large SUVs. The Kia Sorento (1063) beat the Prado (1045) to third.
As rising interest rates start to bite and overseas travel becomes more popular again, the sports car segment has taken a 13 per cent hit this far in 2022.
The once-dominant Ford Mustang logged just 207 sales, marking a 34 per cent decline year-on-year in part due to supply, ahead of the BMW 2 Series (167) and the Subaru BRZ (118), Mazda MX-5 (65), BMW 4 Series (63) and Porsche Cayman (42).
The new Toyota GR 86 is yet to fire with just 34 sales, which was nevertheless more than its more expensive Supra sibling and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class (both on 25), as well as the Porsche 911 (21 – up 34%) and new Nissan Z (10).
Top 10 brands (2022 year to date):
- Toyota – 214,776
- Mazda – 87,218
- Kia – 72,700
- Mitsubishi – 72,064
- Hyundai – 68,911
- Ford – 60,463
- MG – 44,388
- Isuzu Ute – 32,818
- Subaru – 31,965
- Volkswagen – 27,887
Top 10 vehicles (November 2022):
- Toyota HiLux – 5440
- Ford Ranger – 5073
- Toyota Corolla – 3732
- MG ZS – 3051
- Toyota LandCruiser – 2296
- Toyota RAV4 – 2282
- Mazda CX-5 – 1949
- Mitsubishi Outlander – 1875
- Kia Sportage – 1844
- Tesla Model Y – 1805
Related: VFACTS October: Ford Ranger back on top
Related: VFACTS September: Tesla smashes sales records
Related: VFACTS August: Tesla takes top-10 sales spot
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