VFACTS July 2024: Hybrids star, EVs stall in another record month

Last month was the best July on record in terms of new vehicle sales, with the Toyota RAV4 topping the charts.

A total of 102,181 vehicles were sold in Australia in July 2024, with a small decline in private sales offset by double-digit increases in business and government sales.

Electric vehicle (EV) sales fell, but not by as much as it would initially appear.

Tesla and Polestar no longer report their sales figures to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), however their monthly figures were shared with the Electric Vehicle Council.

Pooling this together, we can see electric vehicle sales fell by 1.5 per cent compared to July 2023, with a total of 6743 EVs were sold.

Tesla, by far the EV market leader, was down 34.1 per cent on July 2023’s figures.

Hybrids, in contrast, were up 88.4 per cent to 18,039 sales, while plug-in hybrids were up 128.9 per cent to 2209 sales.

Tesla and Polestar join a small pool of brands that don’t report figures to the FCAI, which also includes Mahindra.

“Consistent with trends in many overseas markets, sales of hybrid vehicles are up 88.4 per cent and plug in hybrid vehicles are up 128.9 per cent compared with July 2023,” said FCAI chief executive Tony Weber.

“Sales of battery electric vehicles – with the inclusion of the reported Tesla (2592) and Polestar (103) results – are currently at 6.6 per cent of the market, down from 7.0 per cent in 2023.”

Brands

As always, Toyota was atop the sales charts. While its HiLux continues to be beaten by the Ford Ranger, it could still boast having Australia’s best-selling vehicle: the RAV4.

Mazda and Ford took the other podium spots, while Kia’s sales rose year-over-year by almost exactly as much as sibling brand Hyundai’s sales fell. Kia is continuing to outsell Hyundai year-to-date.

Mitsubishi was up 38.0 per cent over last July, while MG slumped 23.3 per cent as it runs down stock of the outgoing HS ahead of a new-generation model arriving soon.

The top 10 was rounded out by Isuzu Ute, Subaru and GWM.

While Nissan sat just outside of the top 10, its sales were up 37.6 per cent – one of the best performances of July.

Other brands to post significant increases over the same month last year included Mitsubishi, BYD (up 77.7 per cent), Honda (up 23.9 per cent), Chery (up 31.6 per cent), Land Rover (up 40.4 per cent) and Chevrolet (up 42.9 per cent).

The biggest losers included Tesla (34.1 per cent), Renault (down 40.1 per cent), Jeep (down 41.8 per cent), Cupra (down 44.3 per cent) and Genesis (down 36.8 per cent).

Models

The Toyota RAV4 took the top spot, followed by the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.

With the new Toyota LandCruiser Prado still not in showrooms, the Ford Everest is thriving in the vacuum. It was the sixth best-selling vehicle last month, up two spots from June.

Other familiar top 10 finishers include the Toyota Corolla, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Outlander.

Segments

The following are the segment leaders for the month of July 2024.

• Micro cars: Kia Picanto (443), Fiat 500 (38)
• Light cars under $30,000: MG 3 (1477), Suzuki Swift (607), Mazda 2 (468)
• Light cars over $30,000: Mini Cooper (160), Volkswagen Polo (92), Hyundai i20 (72)
• Small cars under $40,000: Toyota Corolla (2688), Kia Cerato (1592), Mazda 3 (1015)
• Small cars over $40,000: Volkswagen Golf (331), MG 4 (307), Audi A3 (213)
• Medium cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (1498), BYD Seal (570), Mazda 6 (101)
• Medium cars over $60,000: Tesla Model 3 (1239), BMW 3 Series (203), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (162)
• Large cars under $70,000: Skoda Superb (16), Citroen C5 X (5)
• Large cars over $70,000: Mercedes-Benz E-Class (44), Audi A6 (41), BMW 5 Series (23)
• Upper large cars: Bentley Flying Spur (6), Porsche Panamera (4), BMW 7 Series (3)
• People movers under $70,000: Kia Carnival (1033), Hyundai Staria (123), LDV MIFA (39)
• People movers over $70,000: Volkswagen Multivan (45), Toyota Granvia (17), Lexus LM (13)
• Sports cars under $80,000: Subaru BRZ (70), Mazda MX-5 (44), Toyota GR86 (39)
• Sports cars over $80,000: BMW 2 Series Coupe (125), Mercedes-Benz CLE (69), BMW 4 Series two-door range (63)
• Sports cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (63), Ferrari two-door range (20), Lamborghini two-door range (16)

• Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (1608), Suzuki Jimny (691), Hyundai Venue (633)
• Small SUVs under $45,000: MG ZS (1815), Hyundai Kona (1470), Mazda CX-30 (1263)
• Small SUVs over $45,000: BMW X1 (409), Volvo EX30 (313), Audi Q3 (293)
• Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (5933), Mitsubishi Outlander (2110), Mazda CX-5 (2031)
• Medium SUVs over $60,000: Tesla Model Y (1353), Lexus NX (614), Mazda CX-60 (534)
• Large SUVs under $80,000: Ford Everest (2162), Toyota Kluger (1705), Isuzu MU-X (1452)
• Large SUVs over $80,000: Defender (354), BMW X5 (268), Lexus RX (208)
• Upper large SUVs under $120,000: Toyota LandCruiser (1540), Nissan Patrol (664), Kia EV9 (55)
• Upper large SUVs over $120,000: Range Rover (96), BMW X7 (91), Lexus GX (81)

• Small vans: Volkswagen Caddy (81), Peugeot Partner (21), Renault Kangoo (8)
• Medium vans: Toyota HiAce (1136), Hyundai Staria Load (302), LDV G10 (277)
• 4×2 utes: Toyota HiLux (622), Isuzu D-Max (510), Ford Ranger (305)
• 4×4 utes: Ford Ranger (4610), Toyota HiLux (4125), Isuzu D-Max (1859)
• Large pickups: Ram 1500 (249), Chevrolet Silverado (203), Ford F-150 (192)

Sales by category

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Top segments by market share

Includes Tesla sales.

Sales by region

Excludes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by buyer type

Excludes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by fuel or propulsion type

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by country of origin

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

MORE: VFACTS June 2024: Soft finish for record half-year MORE: VFACTS May 2024: Hybrid and EV sales drive another record month MORE: VFACTS April 2024: Record month, hybrids and plug-in hybrids surge MORE: VFACTS March 2024: Big month leads to record quarterly result MORE: VFACTS February 2024: Another record month for Australian new car sales MORE: VFACTS January 2024: Record start to the year but slower times ahead