VFACTS: March 2022 car sales figures released

Australia’s new vehicle sales grew 1.2 per cent in March 2022 to 101,233 units – though once again brands say they could have sold a lot more if they had stock to deliver.

Sales over the first quarter of the 2022 calendar year sit at a cumulative 262,436 units, down 0.5 per cent on 2021’s running tally over the same period.

Toyota led the charts comfortably ahead of Mazda, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, and Kia. Its HiLux and RAV4 occupied the top two spots on the model sales charts, ahead of the Mitsubishi Triton, Mazda CX-5, and Tesla Model 3 in fifth place.

The most interesting development this month is the belated, long-overdue participation of Tesla, which has long refused to publish its sales in the monthly Federal Chamber of Automotive Industry VFACTS database.

Tesla has been joined by new market entrant, and fellow electric carmaker, Polestar.

The reported Model 3 monthly sales figure for March made it the nation’s fifth top-selling vehicle overall, but in the passenger car-specific sales race it topped the charts ahead of the Hyundai i30 and Toyota Corolla. New highs for an EV…

“This is historically a unique time in which supply rather than demand is determining the size of the market. This is due to manufacturers recovering from the pandemic-related shutdowns and the ongoing global shortage of micro processing units,” said FCAI chief Tony Weber.

“Consumer inquiries and demand for new cars remains strong. Manufacturers are working hard to match this demand with supply.”

Various car manufacturers also report significant delays in getting vehicles from the docks, processed, pre-delivered, and into the hands of customers. Likewise, the war in Ukraine has caused further headaches for most European factories.

Brands

Toyota dominated the sales charts with 21.6 per cent market share, 21,828 sales, and the two top-selling vehicles. Mazda finished second with 11,248 and 11.1 per cent share.

Mitsubishi had a bumper month with solid supply, moving 9007 cars and growing 40.1 per cent over March 2021, leaving Hyundai (6516, down 4.9 per cent) and Kia (6051, up 4.3 per cent) to round out the monthly top five.

Next in the pecking order were Ford (4245), MG (3962), Isuzu Ute (3306), Nissan (3168) and Tesla (3097), which pipped Volkswagen (2832) and Mercedes-Benz (2761) to the post into the top 10.

Some other brands that saw their sales decline at the highest rates – whether due to lack of stock or otherwise – included Subaru (down 45.9 per cent), Mini (down 44.2 per cent), Honda (down 36.5 per cent), Audi (down 32.9 per cent), and Skoda (down 30.6 per cent).

You can see the full March 2022 sales figures by brand below:

Models

The Toyota HiLux maintained its dominance, ahead of fellow Big T product, the Toyota RAV4. The Mitsubishi Triton had a second strong month in succession and finished third.

There aren’t too many huge surprises here, aside from the Tesla Model 3 finishing a remarkable fifth overall and being the overall number-one passenger car – as expanded on here.

You can see the full March 2022 sales figures by model below:

Segments

• Micro Cars: Kia Picanto (374), Mitsubishi Mirage (122), Fiat 500 (74)
• Light Cars under $25,000: MG 3 (1528), Suzuki Baleno (958), Mazda 2 (328)
• Light Cars over $25,000: Audi A1 (81), Mini Hatch (71), Citroen C3 (16)
• Small Cars under $40,000: Hyundai i30 (2455), Toyota Corolla (1924), Kia Cerato (1238)
• Small Cars over $40,000: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (365), Audi A3 (141), BMW 1 Series (109)
• Medium Cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (920), Skoda Octavia (197), Mazda 6 (146)
• Medium Cars over $60,000: Tesla Model 3 (3097), BMW 3 Series (335), Mercedes-Benz CLA (203)
• Large Cars under $70,000: Kia Stinger (236), Skoda Superb (73)
• Large Cars over $70,000: Porsche Taycan (75), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (47), BMW 5 Series (29)
• Upper LargeCars: Mercedes-Benz S-Class (20), Chrysler 300 (18), Porsche Panamera (6)
• People Movers: Kia Carnival (530), Hyundai Staria (233), Honda Odyssey (104)
• Sports Cars under $80,000: Ford Mustang (117), BMW 2 Series (68), Subaru BRZ (65)
• Sports Cars over $80,000: BMW 4 Series (73), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (70), Audi A5 918)
• Sports Cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (61), Ferrari range (20), Bentley two-door range (10)

• Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (931), Hyundai Venue (759), Kia Stonic (734)
• Small SUVs under $40,000: Mazda CX-30 (1829), MG ZS (1756), Hyundai Kona (1246)
• Small SUVs over $40,000: Volvo XC40 (451), Audi Q3 (416), Mercedes-Benz GLA (278)
• Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (4610), Mazda CX-5 (3772), Mitsubishi Outlander (1619)
• Medium SUVs over $60,000: Lexus NX (474), Mercedes-Benz GLC (458), Volvo XC60 (451)
• Large SUVs under $70,000: Toyota Prado (2230), Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (1669), Subaru Outback (1187)
• Large SUVs over $70,000: Range Rover Sport (267), BMW X5 (220), Land Rover Defender (200)
• Upper Large SUVs under $100,000: Nissan Patrol (918), Toyota LandCruiser Wagon (844)
• Upper Large SUVs over $100,000: BMW X7 (68), Mercedes-Benz GLS (46), Audi Q8 (27)

• Light Vans: Renault Kangoo (185), Volkswagen Caddy (80), Peugeot Partner (34)
• Medium Vans: Toyota HiAce (802), Hyundai Staria Load (304), LDV G10 (285)
• Large Vans: LDV Deliver 9 (332), Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (206), Renault Master (115)
• Light Buses: Toyota HiAce (343), Volkswagen Crafter (37), LDV Deliver 9 (25)
• 4×2 Utes: Toyota HiLux (1413), Isuzu D-Max (744), Mazda BT-50 (422)
• 4×4 Utes: Toyota HiLux (4911), Mitsubishi Triton (3446), Ford Ranger (2743)

Miscellaneous

Sales by region

• NSW: 32,224, down 6.2 per cent
• Victoria: 27,155, up 5.3 per cent
• Queensland: 21,214, down 1.7 per cent
• WA: 10,016, up 5.3 per cent
• SA: 6380, down 0.1 per cent
• Tasmania: 1768, up 8.2 per cent
• ACT: 1560, down 6.2 per cent
• NT: 916, down 0.2 per cent

Category breakdown

• SUV: 50,893 sales, 50.3 per cent market share
• Light commercials: 24,194 sales, 23.9 per cent market share
• Passenger cars: 21,999 sales, 21.7 per cent market share
• Heavy commercials: 4147 sales, 4.1 per cent market share

Top segments by market share

• Medium SUV: 18.3 per cent
• 4×4 Utes: 17.8 per cent
• Large SUV: 13.1 per cent
• Small SUV: 12.0 per cent
• Small Car: 8.0 per cent

Sales by buyer type

• Private buyers: 55,046, up 7.8 per cent
• Business fleets: 33,810, down 5.8 per cent
• Rental fleets: 5593, down 20.0 per cent
• Government fleets: 2637, up 11.5 per cent

Sales by propulsion or fuel type

• Petrol: 50,272, down 11.6 per cent
• Diesel: 33,379, up 3.6 per cent
• Hybrid: 7474, up 14.1 per cent
• Electric: 5532, March 2021 data not available to compare
• PHEV: 427, up 49.3 per cent
• HydrogenFCEV: 2

Sales by country of origin

• Japan: 32553 units, down 8.9 per cent
• Thailand: 24,025 units, up 10.4 per cent
• Korea: 13,037 units, down 1.1 per cent
• China: 11,539 units, up 90.3 per cent
• Germany: 3729, down 6.5 per cent

Previous monthly reports

• February 2022 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• January 2022 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• December 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• November 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• October 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• September 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• August 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• July 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• June 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• May 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• April 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• March 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• February 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• January 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• December 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• November 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• October 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• September 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• August 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• July 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• June 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• May 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• April 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• March 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)

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