First half of 2021 new car sales figures - VFACTS

We've passed the halfway mark of 2021, which makes it a good time to break down some of the main trends in the Australian market.

5 Jul 2021 at 5:38 pm

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Mike Costello

Senior Contributor

Mike Costello

Senior Contributor

We’re just past the halfway point of 2021, so it’s a suitable time to see how Australia’s new vehicle market is tracking compared to the first half of 2020.

Sales hit 567,468 units January 1 to June 30, which is up 28.3 per cent over 2020’s more COVID-affected figure. It’s the best first half (H1) tally since 2018, when 605,522 vehicles found buyers.

H1 sales by year

2021: 567,468
2020: 442,415
2019: 554,466
2018: 605,522
2017: 599,552

From this total, 51.5 per cent were some variety of SUV, 23.5 per cent were light commercial utes or vans, 22.7 per cent were passenger cars (hatch, sedan, wagon, coupe, convertible, people-mover), and 4.2 per cent were heavy commercials.

The national sales growth is consistent across the board, with the ACT the sole exception (down 18.3 per cent after a boom in 2020 on the back of storm-damage-replacement deliveries).

H1 sales by region

Region	H1 2021 total	Over H1 2020
NSW	181,900	29.1%
Vic	146,231	22.3%
Qld	122,849	33.9%
WA	56,526	39.4%
SA	36,274	29.1%
Tas	9,507	36.0%
ACT	8,984	-18.3%
NT	5,197	47.7%

Brands

The manufacturers that have grown their sales the most by overall volume are Mazda (21,599 more sales over in H1 of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020), Toyota (up 21,599), MG (up 13,802), Kia (up 11,436), and Ford (up 10,232).

If we look at the biggest growers by market-share, the list comprises MG (up from 1.3 per cent to 3.4 per cent), Mazda (8.8 per cent to 10.7 per cent), Isuzu Ute (2.3 per cent to 3.3 per cent), GWM Haval (0.5 per cent to 1.3 per cent), and Kia (6.0 per cent to 6.7 per cent).

Aside from Holden (14,102 sales in H1 last year and zero this year), the biggest drop-offs by gross volume were Honda (down 5758 sales), Mercedes-Benz’s Vans division (down 999), and Jaguar (down 168).

If we change the metric to percentage growth to favour smaller brands, the dynamic changes. Top performers were Genesis (up 309.5 per cent), GWM Haval (261.2 per cent), MG (240.4 per cent), LDV (127.1 per cent), and SsangYong (116.6 per cent).

Other brands with very strong percentage gains so far in 2021 worth noting are Skoda (105.4 per cent), Isuzu Ute (88.4 per cent), Jeep (70.7 per cent), Aston Martin (790 per cent), and Volvo Car (61.4 per cent).

The overall top 20 brands

Brand	H1 2021 total	Over H1 2020
Toyota	118,953	21.7%
Mazda	60,446	55.6%
Hyundai	38,634	25.5%
Kia	37,894	43.2%
Ford	37,883	37.0%
Mitsubishi	37,443	30.1%
Nissan	23,982	28.3%
Volkswagen	20,891	6.6%
Subaru	20,093	34.3%
MG	19,544	240.4%
Isuzu Ute	18,805	88.4%
Mercedes-Benz*	18,461	4.4%
BMW	14,108	12.1%
Honda	10,771	-34.8%
Suzuki	9,284	29.6%
Audi	9,013	24.7%
GWM Haval	7,564	261.2%
LDV	7,184	127.1%
Skoda	5,653	105.4%
Volvo Car	5,439	61.4%

Models

Model	H1 2021 total	Over H1 2020
Toyota HiLux	28,076	25.6%
Ford Ranger	25,336	37.2%
Toyota RAV4	20,359	31.0%
Mazda CX-5	15,290	49.6%
Toyota Corolla	13,819	2.1%
Isuzu D-Max	13,805	108.9
Mitsubishi Triton	13,176	37
Hyundai i30	13,139	27.6%
Toyota L’Cruiser wagon	11,621	69.4%
Kia Cerato	10,756	20.4%
Toyota Prado	10,171	17.8%
MG ZS	9093	433.6%
Mazda CX-3	8985	46.2%
Nissan X-Trail	8742	27.6%
Mazda 3	8421	16.4%
Mazda BT-50	8365	59.9%
Hyundai Kona	8215	50.8%
Nissan Navara	7283	32.9%
Mitsubishi ASX	7275	7.1%
Subaru Forester	7086	23.1%

Segments

We can also identify the most popular models in each vehicle segment, as defined by industry VFACTS data.

Micro Cars: Kia Picanto (3770), Mitsubishi Mirage (533), Fiat 500 (263)
Light Cars under $25,000: MG 3 (6981), Toyota Yaris (3136), Mazda 2 (2734)
Light Cars over $25,000: Mini Hatch (1010), Audi A1 (411), Citroen C3 (47)
Small Cars under $40,000: Toyota Corolla (13,819), Hyundai i30 (13,139), Kia Cerato (10,756)
Small Cars over $40,000: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (2259), BMW 1 Series (1523), BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe (1182)
Medium Cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (6260), Mazda 6 (825), Skoda Octavia (749)
Medium Cars over $60,000: Mercedes-Benz C-Class (2314), BMW 3 Series (2260), Lexus IS (746)
Large Cars under $70,000: Kia Stinger (967), Skoda Superb (372)
Large Cars over $70,000: Mercedes-Benz E-Class (551), BMW 5 Series (370), Porsche Taycan (369)
Upper LargeCars: Mercedes-Benz S-Class (137), Chrysler 300 (78), BMW 6 Series GT (56)
People Movers: Kia Carnival (33465), Honda Odyssey (707), Volkswagen Multivan (595)
Sports Cars under $80,000: Ford Mustang (1792), Mazda MX-5 (444), BMW 2 Series (311)
Sports Cars over $80,000: Mercedes-Benz C-Class (685), BMW 4 Series (594), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (191)
Sports Cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (224), Ferrari range (87), Bentley range (52)

Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (8985), Toyota Yaris Cross (4214), Volkswagen T-Cross (3563)
Small SUVs under $40,000: MG ZS (9093), Hyundai Kona (8215), Mitsubishi ASX (7275)
Small SUVs over $40,000: Audi Q3 (2912), Volvo XC40 (2346), BMW X1 (1963)
Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (20,359), Mazda CX-5 (15,290), Nissan X-Trail (8742)
Medium SUVs over $60,000: BMW X3 (2258), Audi Q5 (2216), Volvo XC60 (2167)
Large SUVs under $70,000: Toyota Prado (10,171), Isuzu MU-X (5000), Subaru Outback (4820)
Large SUVs over $70,000: BMW X5 (1902), Mercedes-Benz GLE (1715), Range Rover Sport (1155)
Upper Large SUVs under $100,000: Toyota LandCruiser (11,621), Nissan Patrol (1453)
Upper Large SUVs over $100,000: Mercedes-Benz GLS (487), BMW X7 (407), Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen (341)

Light Vans: Renault Kangoo (374), Volkswagen Caddy (278), Peugeot Partner (158)
Medium Vans: Toyota HiAce (4956), Hyundai iLoad (2206), Ford Transit Custom (1878)
Large Vans: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (1385), Ford Transit Heavy (990), LDV Deliver 9 (786)
Light Buses: Toyota HiAce (1142), Toyota Coaster (116), Renault Master (96)
4×2 Utes: Toyota HiLux (1112), Isuzu D-Max (628), Ford Ranger (448)
4×4 Utes: Ford Ranger (5610), Toyota HiLux (4300), Isuzu D-Max (2539)