Australian vehicle sales for August 2014 – new C-Class shows promise

Brett Davis 1

Australian new vehicle registration VFACTS figures for August 2014 have been released, with a number of segments being shaken up by the introduction of various new models.

2014 Mercedes-Benz C 200

Some manufacturers have bounced back from the slumps caused by start of the new financial year, as per July figures, while others have dived down even lower.

Honda has stepped back into the top 10 manufacturers list, nudging Mercedes-Benz out from July. Aside from that, all of the top 10 remained in the same positions as the previous month.

King of sales was Toyota once again, but even it posted lower figures than in July. Sales were down 11.9 per cent on August 2013 figures. In fact, the only companies to make decent gains on 2013 figures were Hyundai (up 10.2 per cent) and Ford (up 11 per cent).

The top ten brands for August 2014 were as follows:

1. Toyota – 15,638 (down from 16,486 of July 2014)
2. Holden – 8635 (down from 8990)
3. Hyundai – 8601 (up from 8351)
4. Mazda – 7529 (down from 8048)
5. Ford – 6908 (up from 6210)
6. Mitsubishi – 5233 (up from 5042)
7. Nissan – 5124 (down from 5451)
8. Volkswagen – 4066 (up from 3991)
9. Subaru – 2901 (down from 3121)
10. Honda – 2759 (up from 2708)

As for the top-selling vehicle model, it was the Toyota Corolla. This is now the sixth month in a row the humble small car has enjoyed top spot. Corolla sales are down on July’s effort, but it wasn’t enough to allow Mazda to overtake with the Mazda3.

The Aussie Holden Commodore has been pushed down to fifth spot in overall model standings, while the Hyundai i30 edges closer to the Toyota HiLux for third place.

The top five models in terms of outright sales for August 2014 were as follows:

1. Toyota Corolla – 3247 (down from 3800)
2. Mazda3 – 3124 (down from 3421)
3. Toyota HiLux – 2918 (down from 3140)
4. Hyundai i30– 2651 (up from 2434)
5. Holden Commodore – 2344 (down from 2469)

Hyundai i30 SR

In the sub-premium Medium Cars under $60,000 segment, the trusty Toyota Camry dominated once again. The Japanese company sold 1685 examples, making it over three times more popular than its nearest competitor. Mazda sold 433 examples of the Mazda6, followed by 248 sales of the Volkswagen Passat.

A level up, the premium Medium Cars over $60,000 segment, Mercedes-Benz is off to a flying start with the all-new C-Class range. The introduction of the new model saw sales soar from 121 in July to 488 in August, leaving the BMW 3 Series to second place.

All other popular models remained in the same ranking. The top five in this segment were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 488 (up from 121)
2. BMW 3 Series – 464 (up from 320)
3. Audi A4 – 238 (down from 260)
4. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 204 (down from 243)
5. Lexus IS – 173 (down from 181)

Over in the Aussie Large Cars under $70,000 class, Holden is still maintaining a very strong presence over any of the main rivals. Holden sold 2344 Commodore examples in August, which was no match for the Ford Falcon (442) or Toyota Aurion (406). It will be interesting to watch this space when the new Falcon arrives later this year.

2015 Ford Falcon XR8

Up one in the Large Cars over $70,000 segment, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is remaining extremely steady and has almost matched monthly sales now for three months in a row. The Jaguar XF overtook the BMW 5 Series for second place, leaving the Audi A6 and Mercedes CLS-Class to round out the top five. The top five in this segment were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 124 (up from 123 of July)
2. BMW 5 Series – 51 (down from 78)
3. Jaguar XF – 65 (up from 62)
4. Audi A6 – 46 (down from 50)
5. Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class – 24 (down from 32)

The Sports Car under $80,000 class remained pretty much untouched from July standings, only all models received a considerable blow except for the Audi A3 Convertible. Subaru’s WRX is starting to wind down now after its initial release and excitement a few months ago. The top five models in the category were as follows:

1. Toyota 86 – 297 (down from 493)
2. Hyundai Veloster – 261 (down from 381)
3. BMW 1/2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 120 (down from 121)
4. Subaru BRZ – 72 (up from 67)
5. Audi A3 Convertible – 68 (equal)
(Subaru WRX – 321 [down from 340] – not officially in this segment)

In the more exciting Sport Cars over $80,000 segment, BMW is still storming ahead with the relatively new 4 Series (3 Series two-door replacement). It easily outsold any other car in this class. Interestingly, all models in the top five posted higher sales than the previous month. The top five sellers in the category were as follows:

1. BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible – 191 (up from 158)
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe – 102 (up from 82)
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Cabrio – 85 (up from 68)
4. Audi A5 – 62 (up from 51)
5. Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class – 31 (up from 20)

Jaguar XKR-S Convertible

Stepping up into the high-end Sport Cars over $200,000 segment, more buyers are continuing to go for the Porsche 911 than any other model. The ‘king of sports cars’ posted lower sales compared with July figures, while others experienced some increases. The top five in the category were as follows:

1. Porsche 911 – 30 (down from 34 from July)
2. BMW 6 Series – 18 (down from 26)
3. Jaguar XK – 10 (equal)
4. Aston Martin (models not specified) – 9 (up from 6)
5. Mercedes-Benz SL-Class – 8 (up from 6)

Moving over to one of Australia’s favourite segments, the 4×4 ute class was led by the Toyota HiLux again. It posted 2057 sales, followed by the Ford Ranger with 1696 sales. The Mitsubishi Triton rounded out the top three for August, with 1513 sales, pushing out the Holden Colorado (1415) from July.

Looking at the Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute sales, Toyota shines through once again. Mitsubishi pushed past the Colorado and Navara for third, with the rest of the lineup sticking to much the same order. The top ten 4×2 and 4×4 combined figures for August 2014 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 2918 (down from 3140)
2. Ford Ranger – 2222 (up from 2023)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 1799 (up from 1201)
4. Holden Colorado – 1637 (up from 1443)
5. Nissan Navara – 1303 (up from 1285)
6. Mazda BT-50 – 979 (up from 954)
7. Isuzu D-Max – 837 (down from 923)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 557 (up from 462)
9. Great Wall V200 – 97 (up from 90)
10. Great Wall V240 – 62 (up from 53)

Mitsubishi Triton Warrior

Finally, the SUV segments. There’s a range of new model SUVs out at the moment, and all are causing quite a stir in their respective segments.
Starting in the smaller classes, the Nissan Qashqai is still going strong, although not strong enough to disturb the frontrunners. Nissan sold 625 examples, up from 604 of July. Speaking with car finance experts, we hear Nissan is unable to keep up with the sheer amount of Qashqai orders.

The Mitsubishi ASX is hanging onto third place in this segment thanks to the departure of the Nissan Dualis.

Moving up a class and the Honda CR-V has made a surprise move, sneaking into third place in its segment, while the luxury and sporty Range Rover Sport pushed into third place in its segment.

In all SUV segments, the top-sellers for August 2014 were as follows:

SUV Small under $40,000:
Hyundai ix35 – 1447 (up from 1380 of July)
Subaru XV – 1073 (up from 885)
Mitsubishi ASX – 712 (down from 1197)

SUV Small above $40,000:
Audi Q3 – 185 (up from 134)
BMW X1 – 117 (down from 147)
Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class – 103 (down from 117)

SUV Medium under $60,000:
Mazda CX-5 – 1649 (down from 1895)
Toyota RAV4 – 1307 (down from 1327)
Honda CR-V – 820 (up from 606)

SUV Medium above $60,000:
BMW X3 – 287 (down from 296)
Audi Q5 – 272 (down from 302)
Range Rover Evoque – 208 (down from 212)

SUV Large under $70,000:
Jeep Grand Cherokee – 1477 (up from 1409)
Toyota Kluger – 1267 (up from 1173)
Toyota Prado – 1233 (up from 951)

Range Rover Sport

SUV Large above $70,000:
BMW X5 – 326 (down from 411)
Mercedes-Benz M-Class – 284 (down from 313)
Range Rover Sport – 250 (up from 218)

SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
Toyota LandCruiser – 835 (up from 645)
Nissan Patrol – 101 (down from 125)

SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class – 54 (down from 68)
Range Rover – 26 (down from 34)
Lexus LX – 9 (down from 14)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in August dropped compared with July’s figures, with 88,157 sales over July’s 89,867 effort. Sales were also down on August 2013 figures, by 5.5 per cent.

As for what fuel types buyers went for in August, the sales figures for private buyers in terms of vehicle fuel were as follows (passenger, SUV, and light commercial combined):

Petrol – 34,768 (up from 33,842 of July)
Diesel – 11,887 (up from 10,865)
Hybrid – 256 (up from 243)
LPG – 27 (up from 23)
Electric – 14 (up from 4)

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