Toyota HiLux wins July sales race

Toyota and Mazda led from the front in July, contributing towards the record 92,754 new vehicles sold in Australia during the month, according to official VFACTS data.

The previous July peak of 92,308 units was set in 2015, meaning the 2017 result joins three other months that have set new individual records this year.

Four Toyota models featured in last month's top ten best-sellers, headlined by the HiLux pick-up (3742) and Corolla small car (3208), which claimed the top two places.

A monthly sales total of 17,931 saw Toyota achieve its best July since last decade, falling short of its record 2008 effort where 20,521 examples were moved.

Over July last year, Subaru impressed with its sales soaring by 27.1 per cent.

Mazda also set a personal July record, with 9528 units shifted due to its reinvigorated Mazda3 small car, which enjoyed a 64.3 per cent sales increase over the same month last year when it was about to welcome a mid-life update.

Similarly, the CX-5 mid-size SUV jumped up by 19.2 per cent to 2305 examples sold, thanks to its new-generation model changeover.

Mitsubishi, Subaru and Kia were among the other leading brands that improved significantly last month.

Over July last year, Subaru impressed with its sales soaring by 27.1 per cent to 4265 units, with new models of the small Impreza and XV SUV creating strong demand. 

Kia set a record for the month, with its volume increasing by 20 per cent to 4265, while Mitsubishi sales swelled by 11.2 per cent to 6020.

Among the top 10 brands, Nissan experienced the largest sales drop

Hyundai continues to hold down its position as the market's number-three brand, with 7501 examples finding homes last month, representing a 1.3 per cent decrease over its July 2016 mark.

Holden (6467) and Ford (6270) follow the Korean carmaker in the standings, with their sales decreasing by 8.5 and 9.1 per cent respectively.

Holden year-to-date sales now trail the same period last year by 11.8 per cent, despite the arrival of critical new models like the Astra hatch and sedan.

Thanks to 3076 units sold, Ford's Ranger sits third on the top-selling model list, making it responsible for nearly half of the Blue Oval's Australian retail sales.

Meanwhile, the home-grown Falcon, a one-time best-seller, is on its last legs in the market, having sold just two sedans and one ute for the month following the demise of Ford's local manufacturing operations in October last year.

Among the top 10 brands, Nissan experienced the largest sales drop, with its 4094 examples sold in July representing a 22.8 per cent decrease – the equivalent of more than 1200 units.

Buyer preference continues to trend towards SUVs instead of traditional passenger cars.

BMW and Audi experienced some success against fellow German brand Mercedes-Benz in July, with BMW sales leaping by 5.0 per cent to 2152 examples, while Audi jumped 9.2 per cent to 2114 units. Comparatively, Mercedes-Benz slipped 5.2 per cent to 2628 units.

Year to date, the combined Australian new vehicle market has improved by 0.4 per cent compared to 2016's result, with the 692,306 examples sold, putting it on pace to reach the million-unit mark again. 

Buyer preference continues to trend towards SUVs instead of traditional passenger cars, with the latter dipping by 5.9 percent for the month to 35,792 units, while the former has risen by 9.4 per cent to 36,979 examples.

The hangover from the end-of-financial-year sales in June was evident in the light-commercial vehicle segment, which managed a small increase of 0.8 per cent to 17,016 units.

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