VFACTS: April 2023 car sales headlined by EV growth, Toyota slump

New vehicle deliveries in Australia climbed a modest 1.3 per cent in April over the same month last year, finishing at 82,137 units.

This was driven entirely by growth in SUV sales (up 8.6 per cent), with both light commercials (down 13.1 per cent) and passenger cars (down 1.6 per cent) going in the other direction.

The Ford Ranger topped the charts, narrowly ahead of its Toyota HiLux nemesis, with Toyota’s RAV4 rounding out the podium.

More notable perhaps is the presence of both Tesla models – Model 3 and Model Y – in the overall top 10, helping push EV market share to an increasingly significant 8.0 per cent.

“This is well up from 1.1 per cent compared with April 2022,” said Tony Weber, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) – the peak lobby group for car brands.

“If you take all forms of electrification, that number has increased from 9.5 per cent to 15.4 per cent, and we know that this number would have been larger had the industry not faced global supply challenges.”

There were 22 selling days in April 2023 compared to 23 in April 2022, so this resulted in an increase of 208.9 vehicle sales per day.

The mild sales growth in April took the market to 351,139 sales after four months, up 2.2 per cent YTD. This is slightly higher than the rolling 10-year average, as the table below shows.

Brands

Long-time market leader Toyota continues to be held back by lack of stock, with its sales tumbling 33 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and its market share down at 14.6 per cent, compared to its regular share north of 20 per cent.

But it was still well ahead of Mazda in second on 6926 (down 6.1 per cent). Kia and Hyundai finished third and fourth respectively, with the former continuing to turn the tables on the latter as Australia’s new favourite Korean brand.

Ford (up 1.5 per cent) rounded out the top five, ahead of Mitsubishi in sixth despite a 31.3 per cent decline. Seventh was Tesla with off-the-charts growth and 3676 sales, ahead of MG (sales declined 27.4 per cent), Nissan (up 46.8 per cent thanks to a brand new SUV range), and Volkswagen (up 71.8 per cent as supply out of Europe improves).

Next were Isuzu Ute (down 4.2 per cent despite the MU-X being the nation’s number one large SUV), Subaru (up 52.7 per cent), Mercedes-Benz (down 7.3 per cent), GWM including Haval (up 63.8 per cent), and BMW (up 5.2 per cent).

A few household names that battled in April were Suzuki (down 35.4 per cent), former heavyweight Honda (in 22nd spot and down in volume by 17.1 per cent), Skoda (down 16.4 per cent – unlike its fellow VW Group brands), and Jeep (down 7.7 per cent).

Figures for the market’s newest brands in finish order included BYD (1118 sales and a top 20 finish), Chery (425 sales from its just-launched Omoda 5 as it grows its dealer network under a factory distributor), Cupra (159 units), and Polestar (122 units).

Models

Below is a list of the top 20-selling nameplates, comprising a dozen different manufacturers, 12 SUVs, five utes, and three passenger cars.

1. Ford Ranger: 3567
2. Toyota HiLux: 3526
3. Toyota RAV4: 2198
4. Tesla Model Y: 2095
5. Hyundai i30: 2029
6. Mitsubishi Outlander: 1829
7. Isuzu D-Max: 1809
8. Hyundai Tucson: 1678
9. MG ZS: 1588
10. Tesla Model 3: 1581
11. Mazda BT-50: 1336
12. Mazda CX-30: 1291
13. Mazda CX-5: 1243
14. MG 3: 1141
15. BYD Atto 3: 1118
16. Isuzu MU-X: 1095
17. Nissan X-Trail: 1076
18. Kia Seltos: 998
19. Mitsubishi Triton: 946
20. Subaru Forester: 880

Segments

• Micro Cars: Kia Picanto (617), Fiat 500 (60)
• Light Cars under $30,000: MG 3 (1141), Suzuki Swift (512), Kia Rio (445)
• Light Cars over $30,000: Mini (86), Skoda Fabia (33), Audi A1 (28)
• Small Cars under $40,000: Hyundai i30 (2029), Mazda 3 (845), Toyota Corolla (791)
• Small Cars over $40,000: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (243), Subaru WRX (176), Volkswagen Golf (137)
• Medium Cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (574), Mazda 6 (145), Skoda Octavia (97)
• Medium Cars over $60,000: Tesla Model 3 (1581), BMW 3 Series (247), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (197)
• Large Cars under $70,000: Kia Stinger (233), Skoda Superb (14), Citroen C5 X (10)
• Large Cars over $70,000: Mercedes-Benz EQE (54), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (49), Audi e-tron GT (43)
• Upper Large Cars: Mercedes-Benz S-Class (7), BMW 7 Series (5), Mercedes-Benz EQS (4)
• People Movers: Kia Carnival (792), Volkswagen Multivan (82), Hyundai Staria (68)
• Sports Cars under $80,000: Ford Mustang (143), Subaru BRZ (113), Toyota 86 (78)
• Sports Cars over $80,000: Mercedes-Benz C-Class (82), BMW 4 Series (39), Chevrolet Corvette (28)
• Sports Cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (28), Ferrari range (11), Aston Martin two-door range (9)

• Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (860), Kia Stonic (665), Hyundai Venue (419)
• Small SUVs under $45,000: MG ZS (1588), Mazda CX-30 (1291), Kia Seltos (998)
• Small SUVs over $45,000: Volvo XC40 (527), Audi Q3 (301), BMW X1 (257)
• Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (2198), Mitsubishi Outlander (1829), Hyundai Tucson (1678)
• Medium SUVs over $60,000: Tesla Model Y (2095), Lexus NX (528), Mercedes-Benz GLB (297)
• Large SUVs under $70,000: Isuzu MU-X (1095), Kia Sorento (814), Toyota Prado (762)
• Large SUVs over $70,000: Land Rover Defender (402), Lexus RX (317), Range Rover Sport (232)
• Upper Large SUVs under $120,000: Toyota LandCruiser (830), Nissan Patrol (561), Land Rover Discovery (25)
• Upper Large SUVs over $120,000: Mercedes-Benz GLS (103), BMW X7 (102), Lexus LX (74)

• Light Vans: Peugeot Partner (52), Volkswagen Caddy (51), Renault Kangoo (2)
• Medium Vans: Toyota HiAce (654), Ford Transit Custom (265), LDV G10 (256)
• Large Vans: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (276), LDV Deliver 9 (216), Volkswagen Crafter (96)
• Light Buses: Toyota HiAce (206), Toyota Coaster (15), LDV Deliver 9 (4)
• 4×2 Utes: Toyota HiLux (709), Isuzu D-Max (464), Ford Ranger (415)
• 4×4 Utes: Ford Ranger (3152), Toyota HiLux (2817), Isuzu D-Max (1345)

Miscellaneous

Sales by region

• New South Wales: 25,040, down 1.5 per cent
• Victoria: 22,226, up 4.2 per cent
• Queensland: 18,188, up 4.4 per cent
• Western Australia: 8303, up 5.2 per cent
• South Australia: 5087, down 6.8 per cent
• Tasmania: 1271, down 13.3 per cent
• Australian Capital Territory: 1261, up 5.0 per cent
• Northern Territory: 761, down 10.3 per cent

Category breakdown

• SUV: 56.0 per cent share
• Light commercials: 20.8 per cent share
• Passenger cars: 18.5 per cent share
• Heavy commercials: 4.7 per cent share

Top segments by market share

• Medium SUV: 23.8 per cent share
• 4×4 Utes: 14.8 per cent share
• Small SUV: 14.2 per cent share
• Large SUV: 11.6 per cent share
• Small Car: 7.0 per cent share

Sales by buyer type

• Private buyers: 43,674, up 1.0 per cent
• Business fleets: 27,950, up 2.9 per cent
• Rental fleets: 4409, down 11.4 per cent
• Government fleets: 2249, up 8.1 per cent

Sales by propulsion or fuel type

• Petrol: 42,369, up 1.1 per cent
• Diesel: 23,246, down 16.6 per cent
• Electric: 6530, up 654.0 per cent
• Hybrid: 5592, down 9.6 per cent
• PHEV: 545, down 13.4 per cent
• Hydrogen FCEV: 0

Sales by country of origin

• Japan: 22,304, down 8.4 per cent
• Thailand: 15,886, down 17.6 per cent
• China: 13,426, up 62.1 per cent
• Korea: 12,952, up 6.7 per cent
• Germany: 4039, up 37.4 per cent

Some previous monthly reports

• March 2023 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• Feb 2023 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• Jan 2023 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• Full year 2022 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)

Got any questions about car sales? Ask away in the comments and we’ll jump in!