VFACTS August: Second-best August on-record for new car sales

Australia’s love affair with new vehicles has continued, so much so last month was the second-best August for sales on record.

Across the 31 days of the eighth month of 2024, Aussies purchased and took home some 98,328 vehicles, however that impressive figure is still significantly down (-10.6%) on last year’s record of 109,966 units.

The monthly result means the market is still up 5.6 per cent this year-to-date with 830,226 vehicles having been delivered as of August 31 compared to the 788,584 deliveries chalked up over the same period last year.

Unsurprisingly it was Toyota sitting atop the standings with 21,490 fulfilled sales, followed distantly by Ford (8890), Mazda (8263), Kia (6903) and Hyundai (6211).

The rest of the top 10 comprise Mitsubishi (5516), Isuzu Ute (3924), MG (3561), Nissan (3376) and GWM (3148).

As for the most popular models, the Toyota RAV4 maintained its position at the top of the sales charts for the second month in a row with 6712 deliveries, outselling the Ford Ranger (5431) by more than 1200 units.

The previous champion, the Toyota HiLux, clinched a secure third with 4496 sales, followed by the Isuzu D-MAX (2548), Ford Everest (2273), Mitsubishi Outlander (2188), Kia Sportage (2051), Mazda CX-5 (1927), Toyota Corolla (1855) and Mazda CX-3 (1675).

The RAV4’s dominance has predictably done wonders for the sales of hybrid vehicles Down Under seeing as the model-line is now entirely electrified, but it can’t do all the heavy lifting.

Hybrid sales were up 44.9 per cent last month compared to August 2023 – and a mighty 96 per cent compared to the first eight months of 2023 – somewhat at the detriment of EVs which dipped nearly 51 per cent year-on-year.

Despite the monthly downturn, battery-electric sales are still up 1.4 per cent year to date, however the big winners in terms of growth were plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) which were up 119.8 per cent for the month and 127.3 per cent YTD, however their overall volume is still significantly lower (13,076 YTD) than any other powertrain or fuel type besides hydrogen.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) CEO Tony Weber said the overall market was showing signs of resilience but drew attention to the slowing EV sales.

“Consumers continue to embrace low emission vehicles … however, in line with the experience in many global markets, sales of battery-electric vehicles are disappointing,” he said.

“This is despite the supply of battery electric vehicles increasing significantly with more brands and EV models having entered the Australian market.”

It’s also worth pointing out Tesla and Polestar’s sales aren’t included in the monthly data seeing as both brands opted stop submitting their figures to the FCAI following a fall-out during the tumultuous and turbulent reception of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standards earlier this year.

According to the FCAI data set, passenger vehicles accounted for 15.4 per cent of August’s sales while SUVs continued their dominance with a 57.4 per cent slice of the pie.

Light commercials meantime contributed 22.9 per cent of sales, meaning SUVs and LCVs accounted for more than 80 per cent of all last month’s new deliveries.

Best-selling brands August 2024

Best-selling models August 2024

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