It’s the end of the financial year and unsurprisingly, car sales boomed in the last month of the year. The June 2018 VFACTS report reveals big sales numbers for many car brands, with overall vehicle sales up 1.0 per cent on the first half compared with the same period last year (YTD).
Sitting at the top of the car brands for popularity, Toyota sold almost twice as many vehicles as its next nearest competitor in June. Its figure is up 2.6 per cent for the first six months of the year, but down 5.6 per cent on June last year. Mazda and Hyundai continue in second and third spot, respectively, with sales down 3.5 per cent YTD for Mazda and up 0.2 per cent for Hyundai. Further down we see Honda has jumped back into the top 10, pushing Subaru out, while Volkswagen just holds on in 10th. See below for the top 10 best-selling brands during June 2018.
- Toyota – 23,171 (up from 19,571 of May 2018 sales)
- Mazda – 12,469 (up from 9403)
- Hyundai – 10,436 (up from 8807)
- Mitsubishi – 10,232 (up from 6916)
- Ford – 7492 (up from 5738)
- Holden – 7385 (up from 5129)
- Kia – 7067 (up from 5500)
- Honda – 7013 (up from 4142)
- Nissan – 6604 (up from 4334)
- Volkswagen – 6334 (up from 5430)
As you might have expected, a lot of commercial vehicles make up the top 10 best-selling car models for the month. The Toyota HiLux posted ridiculous figures, almost hitting 6000 sales in one month, while Ford isn’t too far behind with its Ranger. Four utes make up the top 10, and two SUVs, and four small cars. Many of these are likely to be fleet or small business buyers looking to close off the financial year. The top 10 best-selling vehicles for June 2018 were as follows:
- Toyota HiLux – 5787 (up from 4385)
- Ford Ranger – 4768 (up from 3674)
- Mitsubishi Triton – 3919 (up from 2026)
- Toyota Corolla – 3780 (up from 3120)
- Hyundai i30 – 3547 (up from 2779)
- Mazda3 – 3327 (up from 2586)
- Mazda CX-5 – 3136 (up from 2382)
- Toyota RAV4 – 2690 (up from 2063)
- Kia Cerato – 2485 (up from 1843)
- Holden Colorado – 2472 (up from 1754)
Small Cars under $40,000 – Toyota remains the king of small car sales. Although its June figure is down 1.6 per cent YTD and down 1.3 per cent for the month compared with 2017, the Corolla easily outsold its competitors. The Japanese brand will launch the all-new model in August, which is expected to see a big rise in sales. The top 10 best-selling small cars in June 2018 were as follows:
- Toyota Corolla – 3780 (up from 3120)
- Hyundai i30 – 3547 (up from 2779)
- Mazda3 – 3327 (up from 2586)
- Kia Cerato – 2485 (up from 1843)
- Volkswagen Golf – 2317 (up from 1951)
- Honda Civic – 1750 (up from 953)
- Subaru Impreza – 877 (down from 664)
- Holden Astra – 851 (down from 423)
- Hyundai Elantra – 498 (up from 435)
- Mitsubishi Lancer – 673 (up from 394)
Medium Cars under $60,000 – Into the medium sedans and it looks like the Toyota Camry is holding onto top position since switching from an Australian-made model to the new Japanese-made model. Sales are down 35.9 per cent YTD however, which is a big drop. This isn’t helped by a general decline for the segment, with June figures down 42.2 per cent and YTD down 29.5 per cent for the class. The top five best-selling models in this class for June 2018 were as follows:
- Toyota Camry – 1380 (down from 1451 of May)
- Mazda6 – 405 (up from 297)
- Volkswagen Passat – 214 (up from 149)
- Skoda Octavia – 210 (up from 167)
- Ford Mondeo – 160 (down from 167)
Medium Cars over $60,000 – Mercedes is still going strong with its C-Class in this segment, but sales look like they are declining as a new model is approaching the horizon. BMW 3 Series figures weren’t far behind in June, with Audi A4 sales giving it the bronze medal. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during June 2018 were as follows:
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 484 (down from 550)
- Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 420 (up from 266)
- BMW 3 Series – 351 (up from 196)
- Audi A4 – 213 (up from 194)
- Lexus IS – 122 (up from 95)
Large Cars under $70,000 – Holden Commodore sales aren’t doing too bad it seems. Many critics, including us, predicted a big drop in figures but it looks like the buying public aren’t completely snobbing off the new Commodore. There still could be some Australian-made VF examples sitting on the lot though which might be contributing figures. Sales for the nameplate are down a massive 50.8 per cent YTD, and down 43.6 per cent for June. Sales of the Kia Stinger are steady. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for June 2018 were as follows:
- Holden Commodore – 1159 (up from 1040 from May)
- Kia Stinger – 188 (down from 215)
- Skoda Superb – 96 (down from 132)
- Toyota Aurion – 5 (down from 14)
- Peugeot 508 – 1 (equal)
Large Cars over $70,000 – Up into the luxury sedans and we see the Mercedes E-Class remains the pick of the bunch. Its figure is down 29.4 per cent YTD however, and down 22.1 per cent for June. The segment itself isn’t seeing a big response from customers though, with segment sales down 32.8 per cent YTD and down 28.7 per cent for June. This is some evidence of the popularity of the SUV segments, which are showing increases. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class in June 2018 were as follows:
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 180 (up from 130)
- BMW 5 Series – 86 (up from 60)
- Audi A6 – 31 (down from 33)
- Maserati Ghibli – 20 (up from 15)
- Jaguar XF – 18 (up from 7)
Sports Car under $80,000 – Into the more exciting stuff and Ford is still seeing a huge response for the Mustang. And this is despite there being a new model just around the corner (pictured above). Others in the class remain fairly dormant in terms of their figures and top five standings. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment for June 2018 were as follows:
- Ford Mustang – 635 (up from 267 of May)
- Toyota 86 – 111 (up from 75)
- BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 110 (down from 140)
- Mazda MX-5 – 60 (up from 58)
- Subaru BRZ – 51 (down from 58)
(Subaru WRX – 197[up from 176] – not officially in this segment, shown for comparison)
Sport Cars over $80,000 – Up a segment and it’s the Mercedes C-Class two-door that takes the crown again. Like its four-door brother, figures are experiencing a drop across year-to-date, down 35.4 per cent in this case. In other areas the Audi A5 moves up a couple of spots while the rest remain in their positions. The top five best-selling models in this category for June 2018 were as follows:
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 260 (up from 195)
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 92 (up from 70)
- Audi A5 – 63 (up from 59)
- BMW 4 Series Coupe – 55 (down from 69)
- Lexus RC – 28 (up from 20)
Sport Cars over $200,000 – Ultra fast and/or ultra luxurious cars in this class are actually experiencing a 1.9 per cent increase in sales YTD. The Porsche 911 was the most popular model in June, and its figure is up 22.9 per cent YTD. Ferrari sales are also on the rise, up 19.8 per cent YTD, with rival brand Lamborghini posting an increase of 1.6 per cent. The top five best-selling vehicles in the class during June 2018 were as follows:
- Porsche 911 – 46 (up from 38)
- Ferrari (not specified) – 23 (up from 17)
- Mercedes-AMG GT – 19 (down from 20)
- Aston Martin (not specified) – 12 (down from 16)
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe/Convertible – 10 / Lamborghini Coupe/Convertible – 10
Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute – Here’s where we see some of the biggest numbers. The Toyota HiLux is obviously the favourite, and from there we see no changes in the top 10 most popular rankings in June except the Navara moves up one spot to sixth. All models experienced a rise in sales compared with May. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined – excludes LandCruiser) for June 2018 were as follows:
- Toyota HiLux – 5787 (up from 4385 from May)
- Ford Ranger – 4768 (up from 3674)
- Mitsubishi Triton – 3919 (up from 2026)
- Holden Colorado – 2472 (up from 1754)
- Isuzu D-Max – 2223 (up from 1674)
- Nissan Navara – 1621 (up from 1102)
- Mazda BT-50 – 1426 (up from 1277)
- Volkswagen Amarok – 1250 (up from 909)
- LDV T60 – 295 (up from 241)
- Mercedes-Benz X-Class – 226 (up from 183)
SUVs continue to attract huge car buying crowds, with more and more models being introduced and more brands jumping onto the bandwagon. Mazda’s CX-5 was the most popular SUV for the month once again, followed by the Toyota RAV4. RAV4 sales are expected to see a spike next year with the arrival of the all-new model.
In terms of the most popular segments, the ‘Medium under $60,000’ was the most popular, with 19,939 sales, up 5.5 per cent on June 2017 and up 10.1 per cent YTD. The ‘Small under $40,000’ segment is the second most popular SUV class, with 14,468 sales, up 30.5 per cent on June 2017 and up 30.7 per cent YTD. Remaining in third spot is ‘Large under $70,000’, reporting 12,215 sales, down 8.4 per cent on June last year and down 4.7 per cent YTD.
As for movements in the rankings, we see the Honda CR-V has shifted into third spot in its class, while the Mercedes GLC has reported massive numbers in its segment. Nissan’s Qashqai also jumps to the op of the small segment. The top three best-selling SUVs in all categories for June 2018 were as follows:
- SUV Small under $40,000:
Nissan Qashqai – 2198 (up from 1041 from May)
Mitsubishi ASX – 2053 (up from 2029)
Mazda CX-3 – 1869 (up from 1274) - SUV Small above $40,000:
Mercedes-Benz GLA – 486 (up from 385)
BMW X1 – 441 (up from 265)
Audi Q3 – 276 (down from 304) - SUV Medium under $60,000:
Mazda CX-5 – 3136 (up from 2382)
Toyota RAV4 – 2690 (up from 2063)
Honda CR-V – 2232 (up from 1342) - SUV Medium above $60,000:
Mercedes-Benz GLC – 739 (up from 559)
BMW X3 – 554 (up from 522)
Lexus NX – 458 (up from 383) - SUV Large under $70,000:
Toyota Kluger – 1757 (up from 1271)
Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1688 (down from 1712)
Subaru Outback – 1152 (up from 903) - SUV Large above $70,000:
Mercedes-Benz GLE – 325 (up from 188)
BMW X5 – 298 (down from 299)
Range Rover Sport – 268 (up from 242) - SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
Toyota LandCruiser – 1359 (down from 1368)
Nissan Patrol – 129 (up from 127) - SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class/GL – 121 (up from 112)
Lexus LX – 38 (down from 55)
Range Rover – 31 (up from 18)
Total new vehicle sales in Australia in June were up on May figures. During June 2018, Australian consumers bought 130,300 vehicles according to VFACTS compared with 100,754 in May. Sales for the month are down 2.9 per cent compared with June 2017, but year-to-date sales are up 1.0 per cent.
