The official VFACTS figures for Australian new vehicle registrations for May 2012 are out, with the Toyota HiLux maintaining a strong lead ahead of popular favourites, the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla.
According to the figures, a whopping 4626 2012 Toyota HiLux vehicles were registered last month (up from 3565 of April sales). This comprised of 1087 4×2, and 3539 4×4 sales. The huge sales may be due to a lot of fleet buyers getting in before the financial year, however, the total figure is still up by a big margin compared to May 2011 figures (3162).
As for last year’s most popular vehicle, the Mazda3, sales have picked up from April’s effort (3005) to 3288, but it was only just enough to hold off the Toyota Corolla (3155), let alone the overall top seller.
As for our humble Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon in the Large Cars under $70,000 segment, sales have picked up slightly for Holden, with 2521 new registrations in May compared to 2248 in April. The Ford Falcon (Falcon EcoBoost review here) however, still dwindling unfortunately, down by just one vehicle sale this month; 1008 compared with 1009 of April. The Toyota Aurion is slowly catching the Falcon, posting 995 sales in May.
Stepping into the Large Cars over $70,000 category, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class was the clear favourite, going to 337 new homes. This was followed by the BMW 5 Series (79) and Audi A6 (62).
Like the previous month, the Sports Cars under $80,000 segment was dominated by the new Hyundai Veloster (review here). In May it was sold to 359 buyers, up from April’s effort of 297 sales. It was followed by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe with 172 sales, down from the 207 figure of April. The BMW 1 Series Coupe/Convertible finished off the top three with 110 sales (down from 127 of April).
Other interesting highlights in the segment included the Volkswagen Scirocco R, which went to 76 new homes in May. The sports hatch/coupe overtook the popular Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, which was sold to 67 buyers.
In the Sport Cars over $80,000 category, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible stepped in to fill the void left by the BMW 3 Series Coupe and Convertible (37), making 356 sales. This was followed by the Audi A5 which went to 101 new homes. Rounding out the top three was yet again the Mercedes-Benz SLK, with 48 sales.
Just four Nissan GT-Rs went to new homes in May, down from seven in April, while Porsche also only managed to push two Boxsters and two Caymans out the door.
For the Sports Cars above $200,000 category, the obvious favourite was the Porsche 911, taking down 26 sales, down from 28 of April. This was followed by Maserati (unspecified models) with 15 sales, and Ferrari (unspecified) with 10 sales.
In the popular sports 4×4 Ute category, the 2012 Toyota HiLux was the clear favourite, going to 3539 new homes (up from 2684 of April), with the Nissan Navara coming in once again as the second most popular with 2252 sales. The Mitsubishi Triton rounded out the top three with 1389 sales.
The new Ford Ranger is slowly gaining, and posted 1105 4×4 sales in May (up from 909 of April).
Total ute sales (4×2 and 4×4) for May 2012 ran in this order: Toyota HiLux: 4626, Nissan Navara: 2436, Mitsubishi Triton: 1845, Ford Ranger: 1611, Mazda BT-50: 1057, Isuzu D-Max: 727, Volkswagen Amarok: 357, Holden Colorado: 205.
For the somewhat sporty Medium cars under $60,000 category, the new 2012 Toyota Camry was the most popular once again, recording 1850 sales (up from 1602 of April).
It was followed by the Honda Accord Euro, which went to 884 new homes, almost doubling last months 458 effort, with the Mazda6 rounding out the top three with 531. The Mazda just held off the Ford Mondeo, which posted 481 sales.
In the sports/luxury Medium Cars over $60,000 category, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class (495) just nudged ahead of the BMW 3 Series (425), followed by the Audi A4 (225).
As for the very popular Small cars under $40,000 segment, the Mazda3 still maintains the lead with 3288 sales, followed by the Toyota Corolla with 3155 sales, and then the Holden Cruze with 2860 sales. All three are up considerably compared to the April figures.
Lastly, the SUV market saw some interesting changes. The 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class (297) just overtook the BMW X5 (295) in the SUV Large above $70,000 segment. Rounding out the top three was the Volkswagen Touareg with 167 sales.
As for the rest of the SUV segments (SUV Small under and above $40,000, SUV Medium under and above $60,000, and the SUV Upper Large under and above $100,000), the Nissan Dualis was the favourite in the under $40,000 category, with 1330 sales, while the Mazda CX-5 is still going strong posting 1680 sales (up from 1413) in the over $40K segment.
Range Rover Evoque sales climbed from 260 in April to 321 in May, while the Toyota Prado is still the overall favourite with 1900 sales (up from 1725 of April). The Toyota LandCruise outshone the Nissan Patrol in the SUV Upper Large segment, with 962 versus 288.
The motoring market in Australia overall picked up in May compared to April, with 96,069 vehicle sales in total, compared to just 79,097 in April. Sales are also up from May 2011 figures of 77,401.
Due to the Ateco swap-over of Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands to Chrysler Australia, no vehicle sales for Alfa or Fiat were recorded by VFACTS in May.
You’re missing the Isuzu D-Max in your ute figures.
Hi David,
Sorry about that. Article fixed.
Both 4×2 (119) and 4×4 (608) D-Max sales totalled 727.
Cheers