Australian vehicle sales for July 2017 – HiLux dominates again

Australian VFACTS sales figures for new vehicle registrations for July have been handed out, and we see typical drops in sales in most areas with the start of the new financial year.

Starting with the best-selling vehicle brands, there’s no surprises here. It’s Toyota crossing the line with the most units sold once again. The figures dropped dramatically compared with June, as expected for all carmakers, however year-to-date figures are up 6.0 per cent for the Japanese brand. Coming in second place, Mazda’s sales are up 2.3 per cent year-to-date compared with 2016, while third-place Hyundai sitting at 7.5 per cent down on last year’s year-to-date. The top 10 most popular car brands for July 2017 were as follows:

1. Toyota – 17,931 (down from 24,546 of June 2017 sales)
2. Mazda – 9528 (down from 12,501)
3. Hyundai – 7501 (down from 12,251)
4. Holden – 6467 (down from 9273)
5. Ford – 6270 (down from 8853)
6. Mitsubishi – 6020 (down from 9266)
7. Kia – 4266 (down from 6737)
8. Subaru – 4265 (down from 5201)
9. Nissan – 4094 (down from 6690)
10. Volkswagen – 3803 (down from 6447)

In terms of the best-selling nameplates, the Toyota HiLux stands at the top once again. Sales have slumped compared with July, but they are up around 10 per cent year-to-date compared with 2016. Another common sight, the Toyota Corolla comes in second place, with the Ford Ranger rounding out the top three. The top 10 best-selling vehicles for July 2017 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 3742 (down from 5461)
2. Toyota Corolla – 3208 (down from 3830)
3. Ford Ranger – 3076 (down from 5051)
4. Mazda3 – 2466 (down from 3490)
5. Toyota Camry – 2385 (down from 3191)
6. Mazda CX-5 – 2305 (down from 2487)
7. Hyundai i30 – 2123 (down from 3471)
8. Toyota RAV4 – 1736 (down  from 2460)
9. Hyundai Tucson – 1719 (down from 3741)
10. Mitsubishi Triton – 1708 (down from 2995)

Small Cars under $40,000 – Here we see the Corolla is taking a strong lead against its arch rival, the Mazda3. Toyota’s latest efforts puts the Corolla at 22,662 sales so far this year, compared with 20,518 Mazda3s. The Hyundai i30 is catching, with 16,660 units so far. In other areas we see the Honda Civic has jumped ahead of the VW Golf for July compared with June, and the Holden Astra has moved into fifth from seventh. The top 10 best-selling small cars in July were as follows:

1. Toyota Corolla – 3208 (down from 3830 of June)
2. Mazda3 – 2466 (down from 3490)
3. Hyundai i30 – 2123 (down from 3471)
4. Kia Cerato – 1327 (down from 2452)
5. Holden Astra – 1125 (down from 1580)
6. Honda Civic – 1072 (down from 1777)
7. Volkswagen Golf – 1005 (down from 2246)
8. Subaru Impreza – 914 (down from 1212)
9. Mitsubishi Lancer – 801 (up from 679)
10. Hyundai Elantra – 462 (down from 773)

Medium Cars under $60,000 – The Corolla’s bigger brother is doing just as well, posting over four times as many sales as its nearest competitors. We see the Skoda Octavia has popped into the top five this month, fending off the Subaru Liberty. The top five best-selling models in this class for July were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 2385 (down from 3191 of June)
2. Mazda6 – 272 (down from 377)
3. Ford Mondeo – 241 (up from 240)
4. Volkswagen Passat – 175 (down from 322)
5. Skoda Octavia – 157 (up from 109)

Medium Cars over $60,000 – Over in the luxury segment, the Mercedes C-Class continues its domination. C-Class sales are up an impressive 30.8 per cent year-to-date as well, which is the highest increase in the class. Most rivals experienced drops in sales year-to-date compared with last year. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for July were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 538 (down from 993)
2. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 235 (down from 389)
3. BMW 3 Series – 222 (down from 291)
4. Audi A4 – 207 (down from 220)
5. Lexus IS – 92/BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe – 92

Large Cars under $70,000 – Down to its last two, probably. Ford Falcon sales are almost off the charts completely, sadly. Holden Commodore sales are starting to dwindle as well as it gazes down the barrel of its death in October. The Skoda Superb and Hyundai Genesis will soon have to take over as taxi and hire car services. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for July 2017 were as follows:

1. Holden Commodore – 1633 (down from 2054)
2. Toyota Aurion – 261 (down from 358)
3. Skoda Superb – 108 (down from 123)
4. Hyundai Genesis – 12 (down from 19)
5. Ford Falcon – 2 (down from 11)

Large Cars over $70,000 – Stepping up a notch, it seems Mercedes E-Class sales have slowed a little, giving the BMW 5 Series a chance to catch up. For the month of July anyway. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment in July were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 150 (down from 231)
2. BMW 5 Series – 108 (up from 107)
3. Audi A6 – 38 (down from 59)
4. Jaguar XF – 26 (up from 13)
5. Maserati Ghibli – 16 (down from 35)

Sports Car under $80,000 – Here in the more exciting arena, Ford Mustang sales are forging a deep gap against the rivals. In second place it’s the Hyundai Veloster again, with the BMW 2 Series overtaking the Toyota 86 for July. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for July were as follows:

1. Ford Mustang – 919 (down from 1276 of June)
2. Hyundai Veloster – 153 (down from 322)
3. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 135 (down from 151)
4. Toyota 86 – 124 (down from 173)
5. Mazda MX-5 – 110 (up from 109)
6. (Subaru WRX – 185 [down from 191] – not officially in this segment, shown for comparison)

Sport Cars over $80,000 – In the area where you want to start saving, the two-door version of the C-Class shows yet more evidence of Aussie buyers’ appeal to the nameplate. The Stuttgart-based company sold more than double what its arch rival from Munich could manage. The top five best-selling models in this category were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 185 (down from 272)
2. BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible – 69 (down from 87)
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 53 (down from 107)
4. Audi TT – 33 (up from 30)
5. Lexus RC – 31 (down from 48)

Sport Cars over $200,000 – Up into the high-end stuff, and it’s the Porsche 911 that’s still out in front. Porsche 911 sales are up 7.5 per cent year-t0-date, however, the best-selling model remains the Macan SUV. Ferrari sales tied with BMW and its 6 Series, with the new AMG GT coming in third. The top five best-selling vehicles in the class during July were as follows:

1. Porsche 911 – 26 (down from 42)
2. Ferrari (not specified) – 12/BMW 6 Series – 12
3. Mercedes-AMG GT – 10 (up from 6)
4. Bentley (not specified) – 9 (down from 19)
5. Aston Martin – 8/Audi R8 – 8

Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute – Over in the tradie segment, the HiLux is obviously the top-seller. It’s interesting to see the Ford Ranger is creeping right up on the HiLux but consistently holds its distance. The Triton is still in third. All models experienced a drop in sales compared with June, as expected. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined) for July were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 3742 (down from 5461 of June)
2. Ford Ranger – 3076 (down from 5051)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 1708 (down from 2995)
4. Holden Colorado – 1311 (down from 2411)
5. Isuzu D-Max – 1244 (down from 2388)
6. Mazda BT-50 – 1089 (down from 1731)
7. Nissan Navara – 958 (down from 2268)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 566 (down from 1196)
9. Great Wall Steed – 28 (down from 47)
10. Foton Tunland – 0 (equal)

Lastly, we come to the ever-popular SUV segments. The Mazda CX-5 continues its winning streak, planted as the best-selling SUV in the country, meanwhile, the BMW X5 was the best-selling SUV out of all premium segments.

The ‘Medium under $60,000’ segment remains as the most popular, with 12,725 sales, up an incredible 20.1 per cent year-to-date. The second most popular SUV class continues to be the ‘Large under $70,000′ class, with 8996 sales, up 2.5 per cent year-to-date. The third most popular class is the ‘Small under $40,000’ category, with 8424 sales, down 3.9 per cent year-to-date.

The top three best-selling SUVs in all categories for July were as follows:

• SUV Small under $40,000:
  Mitsubishi ASX – 1544 (down from 2247 of June)
  Mazda CX-3 – 1420 (down from 1974)
  Nissan Qashqai – 1239 (down from 1510)

• SUV Small above $40,000:
  BMW X1 – 381 (down from 464)
  Mercedes-Benz GLA – 277 (down from 336)
  Audi Q3 – 249 (down from 336)

• SUV Medium under $60,000:
  Mazda CX-5 – 2305 (down from 2487)
  Toyota RAV4 – 1736 (down from 2460)
  Hyundai Tucson – 1719 (down from 3741)

• SUV Medium above $60,000:
  Land Rover Discovery Sport – 362 (down from 517)
  Audi Q5 – 325 (up from 226)
  BMW X3 – 276 (down from 448)

• SUV Large under $70,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1217 (down from 1971)
  Toyota Kluger – 990 (down from 1464)
  Mazda CX-9 – 919 (down from 934)

• SUV Large above $70,000:
  BMW X5 – 394 (up from 359)
  Land Rover Discovery – 341 (up from 8)
  Audi Q7 – 279 (down from 304)

• SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser – 1041 (down from 1255)
  Nissan Patrol – 69 (up from 68)

• SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class/GL – 105 (up from 92)
  Range Rover – 37 (down from 43)
  Lexus LX – 25 (up from 24)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in July were down on June figures. During July, Australian consumers bought 92,754 vehicles compared with 134,171 in June. Overall sales are up 1.6 per cent compared with July 2016, and up 0.4 per cent year-to-date.