The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has released the national VFACTS new vehicle registration figures for May 2016, showing the Hyundai i30 has once again come through as the most popular vehicle.
In the top 10 best-selling vehicle brands list, we see some brands have shuffled back into their usual spots following the jumbling that went on during April. Hyundai drops from second place into third, returning Mazda to second. Holden also jumps back ahead of Ford, and Kia steps back in front of Mercedes-Benz. The top 10 most popular brands for May 2016 were as follows:
- Toyota – 17,201 (up from 16,567 of April 2016 sales)
- Mazda – 9608 (up from 8461)
- Hyundai – 9005 (up from 8643)
- Holden – 7405 (up from 6710)
- Ford – 6584 (down from 6842)
- Mitsubishi – 6154 (up from 4178)
- Nissan – 5585 (up from 4044)
- Volkswagen – 4565 (down from 4732)
- Subaru – 4002 (up from 3156)
- Kia – 3542 (up from 3025)
As for the best-selling vehicle models, it’s the Hyundai i30 that has shown everyone how it’s done. It beat out popular contenders Corolla and Mazda3 once again. Further down the line we see more and more SUVs creeping into the top 10, proving the increasing popularity of these vehicle types. The top 10 best-selling vehicles for May 2016 were as follows:
- Hyundai i30 – 3771 (down from 4143)
- Toyota HiLux – 3675 (up from 3384)
- Toyota Corolla – 3333 (up from 2959)
- Mazda3 – 3243 (up from 2512)
- Ford Ranger – 3115 (up from 2973)
- Holden Commodore – 2255 (up from 1908)
- Mazda CX-5 – 2117 (up from 1675)
- Volkswagen Golf – 1753 (down from 1811)
- Toyota RAV4 – 1695 (up from 1524)
- Hyundai Tucson – 1643 (up from 1302)
Medium Cars under $60,000 – What do you know? It’s the Toyota Camry once again dominating the class, with no rivals even getting close. Of course, many of these sales are attributed to fleet and even taxi companies. Mazda6 has regained second place, while the Ford Mondeo, VW Pasat, and Subaru Liberty continue to fight for the remaining top five. The top five best-selling models in this class were as follows:
- Toyota Camry – 1446 (down from 1511)
- Mazda6 – 384 (up from 314)
- Subaru Liberty – 279 (up from 206)
- Volkswagen Passat – 256 (down from 330)
- Ford Mondeo – 229 (up from 202)
Medium Cars over $60,000 – In the luxury version of the segment above, it’s a much closer battle. The new Mercedes C-Class is still the favourite, followed by the BMW 3 Series. Audi’s new A4 has made some ground, while the Jaguar XE lost out to the Lexus IS for inclusion in the top five this month. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 547 (up from 533)
- BMW 3 Series – 379 (down from 387)
- Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 317 (down from 367)
- Audi A4 – 235 (up from 150)
- Lexus IS – 162 (up from 95)
Large Cars under $70,000 – Australian cars continue to make up most of this segment, however, this will soon change. Cars like the Skoda Superb and Hyundai Genesis will have to take over. Holden Commodore sales jumped from the previous month, and Ford Falcon sales also saw a nice little rise. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:
- Holden Commodore – 2255 (up from 1908)
- Ford Falcon – 521 (up from 410)
- Toyota Aurion – 305 (up from 219)
- Skoda Superb – 58 (up from 53)
- Hyundai Genesis – 21 (equal)
Large Cars over $70,000 – In the premium large cars, it’s very close between the Mercedes E-Class and the BMW 5 Series. After these though, the figures drop by around 50 per cent, with vehicles like the Audi A6 and Lexus GS unable to catch up. Interestingly, the Maserati Ghibli went out to more buyers than these rivals. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment in May 2016 were as follows:
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 62 (down from 93 of April)
- BMW 5 Series – 59 (up from 46)
- Maserati Ghibli – 37 (up from 36)
- Audi A6 – 30 (down from 41)
- Mercedes-Benz CLS – 27 (down from 38)
Sports Car under $80,000 – The trusty Ford Mustang is still a hot seller, and it will probably continue to be for some time; the ordering list apparently strings right out into 2017. New registrations have dropped off since April, but May’s figures were still higher than any other car in the segment. Interestingly, more people bought a BMW 2 Series than the popular Toyota 86. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:
- Ford Mustang – 309 (down from 690)
- Hyundai Veloster – 198 (up from 79)
- BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 192 (up from 185)
- Toyota 86 – 185 (down from 195)
- Mazda MX-5 – 118 (down from 185)
(Subaru WRX – 35 [down from 113] – not officially in this segment)
Sport Cars over $80,000 – Mercedes’s new C-Class Coupe seems to be a popular one in this class, hitting decent numbers after hitting the local market recently. BMW 4 Series sales are still going reasonably strong, while the Audi A5 and Lexus RC direct rivals are well behind. The top five best-selling vehicles in this category were as follows:
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 208 (up from 196)
- BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible – 160 (down from 163)
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 58 (down from 60)
- Lexus RC – 52 (down from 54)
- Audi TT – 31 (down from 45)
Sport Cars over $200,000 – Porsche continues to win the hearts – and pay cheques – of buyers in the market, with the legendary 911. Lamborghini posted impressive figures in May, jumping right up into second place. The new Audi R8 also reported decent numbers. The top five best-selling vehicles in the class during May 2016 were as follows:
- Porsche 911 – 41 (up from 29 of April)
- Lamborghini (not specified) – 21 (up from 8)
- Audi R8 – 16 (up from 2)
- BMW 6 Series – 14/Ferrari (not specified) – 14
- Mercedes-AMG GT – 12 (down from 15)
Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute – Utes continue to be a hot favourite among Aussie buyers, and with the end of the financial year fast-approaching, we can expect to see these figures jump in June sales. For May though, the HiLux remains the clear favourite, closely followed by the Ford Ranger. The Nissan Navara has jumped up a few spots, while all models except the Ssangyong saw a rise in sales compared with the previous month. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined) for May 2016 were as follows:
- Toyota HiLux – 3675 (up from 3384 of April)
- Ford Ranger – 3115 (up from 2973)
- Mitsubishi Triton – 2021 (up from 1443)
- Nissan Navara – 1752 (up from 1035)
- Holden Colorado – 1414 (up from 1228)
- Isuzu D-Max – 1351 (up from 1067)
- Mazda BT-50 – 1204 (up from 1057)
- Volkswagen Amarok – 810 (up from 619)
- Foton Tunland – 68 (up from 60)
- Ssangyong Actyon Sports – 2 (down from 3)
Over in the unstoppable SUV segments, most of the favourites remained in the same positions as the previous month, strangely. The Audi Q5 worked its way back into the top three in its class, while the Subaru Outback posted some decent numbers in its category.
The most popular category again was the ‘SUV Medium under $60,000’ class, with 11,484 sales in total. The figure is up 17.0 per cent on the same month last year when 9812 units were sold.
The second most popular SUV segment during May was the ‘SUV Large below $70,000’ class. Sales are up 4.2 per cent from the same month in 2015.
Completing the three favourite SUV classes is the ‘SUV Small below $40,000’. Sales hit 8247 in May, up 1.5 per cent compared with the same month last year.
The top three best-selling SUVs in all categories for May 2016 were as follows:
- SUV Small under $40,000:
Mazda CX-3 – 1451 (down from 1604 of April)
Mitsubishi ASX – 1244 (up from 920)
Honda HR-V – 1149 (up from 872)
- SUV Small above $40,000:
BMW X1 – 372 (up from 326)
Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class – 268 (up from 231)
Audi Q3 – 253 (down from 324)
- SUV Medium under $60,000:
Mazda CX-5 – 2117 (up from 1675)
Toyota RAV4 – 1695 (up from 1524)
Hyundai Tucson – 1643 (up from 1302)
- SUV Medium above $60,000:
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class – 418 (down from 458)
Audi Q5 – 387 (up from 165)
BMW X3 – 299 (down from 306)
- SUV Large under $70,000:
Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1174 (down from 1329)
Toyota Kluger – 1072 (up from 946)
Subaru Outback – 1055 (up from 805)
- SUV Large above $70,000:
BMW X5 – 419 (up from 359)
Audi Q7 – 302 (up from 106)
Range Rover Sport – 281 (up from 260)
- SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
Toyota LandCruiser – 982 (down from 1349)
Nissan Patrol – 151 (up from 117)
- SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class/GL – 124 (up from 78)
Range Rover – 46 (up from 41)
Lexus LX – 15 (down from 37)
Total new vehicle sales in Australia in May were up on April figures. During May, Australian consumers bought 96,672 vehicles, compared with 87,571 in April. Sales are up 3.6 per cent compared with May 2015, with year-to-date figures up 3.8 per cent.
