Toyota HiLux dominates Ford Ranger rival and all comers in drought-breaking November 2020 new-car sales

After 31 consecutive months of declining sales, the Australian new-vehicle market finally posted a positive result in November 2020, with its volume up 12.4 per cent month-on-month, to 95,205 units.

While this is a definite move in the right direction, the Australian new-vehicle market still has a long way to go before it truly recovers, with its year-to-date decrease now 16.1 per cent, with 821,316 sales recorded in the first 11 months of 2020.

Toyota dominated in November 2020, with five of its models in the top 10 for the second month in a row. Leading the way was the strong-selling HiLux ute (5038 units, +33.0%), which kept the rivalling Ford Ranger (4260, +22.0%) in second place once more.

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The rest of the top five belonged to Brand T, with the RAV4 mid-size SUV (3800 units, +64.1%), Corolla small car (2774, 24.5%) and Prado large SUV (2601, +116.1%) all performing very strongly.

The LandCruiser upper-large SUV had a very similar November 2020, with its sales up 116.3 per cent, to 1981 units, which was good enough for 10th position.

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Meanwhile, the Mazda CX-5 mid-size SUV (2412 units, +39.0%) finished in sixth place ahead of the Isuzu D-Max ute (2095, +45.7%) and Hyundai’s i30 small car (2047, -12.5%) and Tucson mid-size SUV (1995, +38.2%) to round out the top-10 models.

Unsurprisingly, a defiant Toyota (23,204 units, +36.9%) was the best-selling brand in November 2020, finishing well ahead of a resurgent Mazda (9053, +46.8%), which took home silver.

A steady Hyundai (6903 units, +1.2%) also made it onto the podium, fending off a plucky Ford (6613, +33.2%) and a struggling Mitsubishi (5488, -20.0%), which were both top-five brands.

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Kia (5376 units, +4.6%), Nissan (4001, -6.3%), Volkswagen (3280, -16.4%), Subaru (3203, +2.0%) and Isuzu (2943, +36.2%) also placed in the top 10.

The SUV was once again the most popular type of new vehicle, with a commanding 52.5 per cent share, followed by the light-commercial vehicle (22.3%) and passenger car (21.8%).

Commenting on these results, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said: “With the Australian economy showing improvement, it’s good news to see new-vehicle sales trending in a more positive direction.

“Why are we seeing an improvement now? We believe there are a few contributing factors, including rising optimism from the Australian public as COVID-19 restrictions ease.

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“This increase in consumer confidence is backed by government support programs during the pandemic, the easing of lending restrictions, and the current competitive automotive market.

“We also believe that, given our inability to travel internationally, many Australians are choosing to purchase a new vehicle and holiday at home this year – and we fully expect to see a notable increase in family driving trips over the Christmas season.”

For reference, every state and territory except Tasmania (-10.9%) experienced significant growth last month, with the Northern Territory (+32.9%), Queensland (+19.5%) and ACT (+14.5%) out in front ahead of New South Wales (+13.0%), Western Australia (+12.6%), Victoria (+9.1%) and South Australia (+7.5%).

The most popular brands of November 2020

The most popular models of November 2020