Australia's best selling cars

Australia's new-car market went into reverse gear in July, dragging down sales by almost 8.0 per cent on the same month last year and with it, putting the first seven months of this year behind the same period in 2017.The result is a disappointment considering sales to June this year had strengthened and pointed to a strong calendar year result. For the month, only three carmakers – Kia, Nissan and Volkswagen – posted gains.The official VFACTS figures released today showed the volume of vehicles sales for the first seven months of the year were down 0.2 per cent, or 1233 vehicles, at 691,073 units.In July, the month was down 7.8 per cent on July in 2017.The sliding passenger-car segment remained on target, falling 20.2 per cent in July with the only spark being a 31.8 per cent boost in micro-car sales, led by Kia's Picanto (up 58.3 per cent in July) and the Mitsubishi Mirage (up 39.8 per cent).Light-commercial vehicles showed some resilience by lifting 0.1 per cent.Ute sales were up 1.3 per cent overall with 4WD utes making the biggest LCV gains with a 6.4 per cent rise on July 2017.The segment was dominated by the Toyota HiLux that was again Australia's top-selling vehicle.Unexpectedly, SUV total sales cooled by 1.0 per cent although within that segment, small SUVs and upper large SUVs lifted 3.4 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.SUVs are comfortably leading passenger car sales by about 25,000 units year to date and medium-size SUVs are the biggest sellers in year-to-date figures. However, the SUVs couldn't beat strong sales of small passenger cars – led by Corolla's 17.7 per cent segment share – for the month of July.In brand sales, Toyota was again on top, although it copped a 5.7 per cent fall last month as the effect of moving to an imported version of the Camry was felt.Camry was in new territory, down 44.8 per cent in March and 37.4 per cent year-to-date but it still had the lion's share of the segment.Other Toyota models that recorded big falls included the Yaris (-10.1 per cent); Fortuner SUV (-43.5 per cent); Corolla (-19.1 per cent); and the 86 sports coupe which fell 35.5 per cent, more than clone Subaru BRZ's 9.7 per cent decline.The RAV4 posted a modest 6.7 per cent increase in July, while Kluger, Prado and HiLux delivered strong results. Mazda recorded second spot on the brand ladder but had a 6.4 per cent drop over July last year as all models except the Mazda6 sedan slipped.Despite that, selected Mazda models retained strong positions. The Mazda3 was the nation's fourth best-selling vehicle and was followed by the CX-5 SUV in fifth. The new CX-8 diesel SUV came in with 220 sales in July.Hyundai's i30 small car was in sixth overall and had a 2.6 per cent lift in sales in July. The Tucson mid-size SUV, due for a model upgrade next month, was in 10th position.Overall, Hyundai lost 5.9 per cent of sales caused by retractions in Accent (-31.7 per cent), iLoad van (-28.9 per cent), Elantra (-19.9 per cent) and Veloster (-50.3 per cent). Mitsubishi had strong results from its Pajero Sport (up 37.6 per cent) and Eclipse Cross (723 sales in July), while Ford slid 12.6 per cent for the month on declining sales for Mustang, Everest, Fiesta and Mondeo.Kia increased sales but its powerhouse expansion was slowed to 3.2 per cent in July compared with the same month last year.Nissan moved gently upwards with sales in March lifting by 4.1 per cent. Its best-selling X-Trail was up almost 10 per cent and Patrol did well, but Juke and Qashqai fell.Volkswagen recorded the biggest sales jump of the top-10 players, with a 4.7 per cent increase that was boosted by a 62 per cent leap in Golf sales and a 36.1 per cent increase for Amarok 4WD.Holden couldn't take a hit in July with a 39.3 per cent sales plunge to 3927 units and pushing it into ninth position with a 4.6 per cent market share for July and 5.3 per cent share year to date.Huge sales falls for key models included the Astra (-47.7 per cent), Commodore (-65.9 per cent), Captiva (-63.6 per cent) and Trax (-30.2 per cent).The new Equinox mid-size SUV didn't help much with 271 sales for July, but there was some comfort in the 12.0 per cent lift for the Colorado 4WD that is part of a strong marketing push.Subaru rounded out the top 10 on 3366 sales, but it was 21.1 per cent behind July last year.The three prestige Germans were caught by double-digit falls, with Audi down by 36.0 per cent, BMW sliding 21.8 per cent and Mercedes-Benz Cars – which remains the premium segment leader year to date – down by 15.4 per cent.Some of the lower volume premium brands shrugged off the gloom, with Alfa Romeo up by 39.4 per cent on its Stelvio and Giulia newcomers; Infiniti stronger by 19.6 per cent; and Volvo ahead by 34.7 per cent.Some of the biggest movers last month were Chinese brands LDV (up 146.9 per cent) and MG Motor (up 538.6 per cent). A revitalised Peugeot posted a 137.7 per cent gain on its 3008 and 5008 SUVs. Top 10 selling brands July 2018 Top 10 selling models July 2018

Australian vehicle sales fell last month, despite the annual June end-of-financial-year splurge that saw Toyota claim a record sales month for its HiLux ute.

Half of Australia’s top 10 best-selling brands recorded a dip in monthly new car sales in May, ahead of what is expected to be a record-setting June stimulated by aggressive end-of-financial-year deals.A total of 100,754 sales were recorded for May 2018, a drop of 2.1 per cent over the same month in 2017. SUVs did most of the heavy lifting with 42,973 registrations (up 8.4 per cent), ahead of passenger cars with 32,789 (-15.6 per cent) and light commercial vehicles with 21,082 (-0.5 per cent).With the exception of micro cars, every passenger car sub-segment recorded a dip in sales, with the Kia Picanto, Fiat 500 and runout versions of the Holden Spark (which will soon be pulled from sale in Australia) helping deliver a 46.2 per cent rise for Australia’s smallest vehicle segment.All SUV segments recorded growth except for large SUVs, which fell by 7.1 per cent. Small SUVs registered the largest spike with a 36.1 per cent climb.Australia’s most popular brand, Toyota, dipped by 1.5 per cent to 19,571 sales, with the Camry mid-sizer (-35.0 per cent) and Yaris (-20.7 per cent) falling the hardest. It was not all doom and gloom however, with the Fortuner (+41.2 per cent), Land Cruiser 70 Series (+24.8 per cent) and C-HR crossover (+65.6 per cent) all stepping up.With 4385 combined sales and a 5.5 per cent increase, the HiLux was again Australia’s favourite vehicle last month, with Ford’s Ranger bringing up second (3674) ahead of Toyota’s Corolla small car (3120).Hyundai’s i30 beat the Mazda3 for fourth spot overall with 2779 sales (+3.6 per cent), and the brand recorded a 6.0 per cent increase with 8807 sales, however some of its usual strong performers recorded sales declines, including the Tucson (-13.9 per cent) and soon-to-be-replaced Santa Fe (-34.6 per cent).Mazda sales dropped 5.0 per cent, but the brand but still finished second behind Toyota on 9403 sales, with the CX-5 the most popular SUV in the country (2382 units sold), just pipping the Toyota RAV4 (2063).With 6916 sales, Mitsubishi climbed by 6.1 per cent, even though the Lancer, Pajero, Pajero Sport and 4x2 Triton all registered double-digit drops.Ford sales dipped 24.7 per cent on the back of slower returns from big-selling nameplates like the Ranger (-9.7 per cent) and Mustang (-80.2 per cent), the latter of which is set to see a facelifted model go on sale in June.Kia took sixth spot with a 9.9 per cent jump, thanks largely to the Cerato and Sportage, while Volkswagen snared seventh spot with a 6.9 per cent lift thanks to the Amarok, Tiguan, Golf and Caddy van.Holden sales dropped 25.8 per cent with all models bar the Barina light car and Spark dropping, with the Astra dropping 48.9 per cent to fall behind the Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra.Nissan and Honda rounded out the top 10 with 4334 and 4142 sales respectively, with the latter climbing 8.4 per cent thanks to the barnstorming CR-V (+162.1 per cent).Mercedes-Benz continues to lead the way for premium manufacturers with 2898 sales, with BMW (2101) and Audi (1851) following.The addition of the XC40 small SUV (129 sales) has seen Volvo sales climb by 41 per cent in May, while the XC60 SUV recorded a 42.8 per cent lift (237 sales).

In what has been a tough start to 2018 sales-wise, Holden has something to smile about with its Trailblazer, Trax and new Equinox SUVs all registering a lift in sales volume in April.

Holden’s sales tumble has continued, with the once-dominant Red Lion brand in jeopardy of falling out of the top 10 list for sales by manufacturer according to official VFacts figures released today.

Holden recorded its lowest monthly market share yet last month, dipping to 4.9 per cent while it transitioned to its new model line-up, including the imported ZB Commodore and Equinox mid-size SUV.The Red Lion, a one-time market leader, claimed eighth position for the first time ever in last month’s VFACTS national sales rankings, trailing Mitsubishi, Ford, Honda and Nissan but just ahead of Volkswagen and Kia.Managing only 4689 units in February, Holden sales were down 18.1 per cent on the same month last year, despite the overall Australian new-vehicle market improving by 7.8 per cent to 95,999 vehicles – the second best February return yet following 2016’s 96,443 units.Holden product and brand communications senior manager Mark Flintoft said the brand had anticipated a slower start to the New Year, but expected to return to form soon.“It’s always our aim to sell more vehicles, and our current market share is not where we want it to be,” he said. “That said, February’s result is unnatural in that new Commodore is only just reaching dealerships, and while Equinox inquiry and test drives are growing, we are still establishing the nameplate.“We’re also waiting on the diesel Equinox which arrives at the end of the month. We’ve got our strongest product line-up ever with more in the pipeline, so we expect to bounce back quickly.”Holden sold only 737 Commodores during the month, representing less than half the total of February last year when 1566 examples of the locally built model were sold.It was also the second month in a row that Holden’s sales took a significant hit, with its January tally down 20 per cent, partly due to a lack of Commodore stock and a flood of ‘demonstrator’ Astras registered in dealerships in December. The newly-minted Equinox amassed just 364 sales last month, good enough for 11th in the evergreen mid-size-SUV segment that was again led by the Mazda CX-5 (2181). While light-commercial vehicles were booming in other showrooms, Colorado sales dipped about 20 per cent, to 1039 vehicles – around a quarter of the Toyota HiLux’s volume.Overall, Holden’s sales are down 19 per cent year-to-date – or 2500 units – while its market share sits at 5.6 per cent, which is well behind its full-year effort of 7.6 per cent in 2017.SUVs and light-commercial vehicles again drove the market last month, up 12.1 and 13.3 per cent respectively year-to-date, while passenger cars slid once more (down 0.7 per cent).Toyota took advantage of the thriving market conditions, increasing its sales by 12.1 per cent, to 18,281 units, which allowed it to again claim first place.Similarly, the HiLux utility was the most popular model in February, tallying 4426 sales – its best-ever return for the month and an improvement of more than 1000 units over last year – to outpace the Ford Ranger (3544) which assumed second place.Mazda totalled 9913 sales last month – down 0.1 per cent – to take second spot on the sales chart ahead of Hyundai which sold 8001 vehicles – up 14.3 per cent – for third position.Mitsubishi and Honda were two of the bolters in February, with the former increasing sales by 24 per cent to 7142 units and fourth spot, while the latter improved 55.3 per cent to 4962 vehicles and sixth place.Strong Ranger sales – up more than 20 per cent – and better performances from its SUVs helped Ford lift its sales by 6.9 per cent to 6059 units and fifth position.Nissan’s Navara utility – which was recently updated – and X-Trail mid-size SUV were central to the seventh-placed Japanese brand’s increased sales, up 9.9 per cent to 4863 vehicles.Volkswagen came within striking distance of Holden for the first time, finishing in ninth spot with 4671 sales. However, it was ahead of Kia (4664, up 11.7 per cent) and Subaru (3901, up four per cent).

Australia’s new-vehicle market has started off the new year with a spike in sales spearheaded by some familiar faces, according to official VFACTS figures released today.

Sales of utes and SUVs may have been the big headline-getters on the back of a record year of new vehicle sales in 2017.

SUV sales officially overtook traditional passenger cars in 2017, according to VFACTS sales data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) today.

For the second-straight year the Toyota HiLux ute has been named Australia's best-selling vehicle.