The official VFACTS figures for Australian new vehicle registrations for August 2012 are out, and it’s the Toyota HiLux that stands out as the clear favourite once again.
In the popular battles, the Toyota 86 (review here) was unable to overtake the Hyundai Veloster in the fierce Sports Car under $60,000 segment, while the humble Ford Falcon showed some fight by increasing sales in August over July.
Starting with the Aussie icons in the Large Cars under $70,000 segment, the Holden Commodore outsold the Ford Falcon once again, reporting 2435 new registrations against the Falcon’s 1353. The Falcon (Falcon EcoBoost review here) did see a big improvement over July’s efforts though, when just 941 sales were made. The Toyota Aurion remained steady with 564 (up from 536 in July).
For the Large Cars over $70,000 category, the BMW 5 Series maintains its lead, recording 77 sales. Interestingly, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class dropped out of the top three with 17 sales. The new Lexus GS went to 55 new homes, followed by the Jaguar XF which went to 52 buyers.
In the Sports Cars under $80,000 segment, the Hyundai Veloster maintains its lead with 378 sales (up from 360 in July), followed by the Toyota 86 which went to 302 new homes (down from 315). Rounding out the top three was the BMW 1 Series with 139 sales.
Stepping up into the Sport Cars over $80,000 category, the BMW 3 Series Coupe/Convertible overtook the Mercedes-Benz SLK, with 67 sales versus 46. The Audi A5 also stepped past last month’s favourite with 57 sales.
For the Sports Cars above $200,000 category, the Porsche 911 maintains its lead with 26 sales (up from 18 in July). This was followed by the BMW 6 Series with 19 sales. In a surprise move, Aston Martin stepped into the top three making 13 sales (specific model undisclosed). Ferrari sold nine vehicles while Maserati sold six. Two lucky consumers bought a Lamborghini in August as well.
In the very popular 4×4 Ute segment, the 2012 Toyota HiLux was a clear favourite recording 2923 sales, followed by the Nissan Navara with 1828 sales. The new Holden Colorado 4×4 made a surprising move and stepped up into the top three with 1386 sales, pushing out the other popular workhorse, the Mitsubishi Triton (951).
Total ute sales (4×2 and 4×4) for August 2012 ran in this order:
Toyota HiLux: 4010
Nissan Navara: 2017
Ford Ranger: 1629
Holden Colorado: 1581
Mitsubishi Triton: 1400
Mazda BT-50: 1003
Volkswagen Amarok: 750
Isuzu D-Max: 741
In the semi-sporty Medium cars under $60,000 category, the 2012 Toyota Camry maintains its strong lead with 2130 sales, followed by the Ford Mondeo with 497 sales, and the Mazda6 with 492.
For the sports/luxury Medium Cars over $60,000 category, the new BMW 3 Series (F30 320i Sport Line review here) maintains its lead reporting 487 sales, followed by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class with 446 sales. Rounding out the favourites were the Audi A4 making 187 sales, and the Lexus IS with 139 sales (IS 250; 101, IS 350; 35, IS F; 3).
As for the popular Small cars under $40,000 segment, the Mazda3 is still holding onto its lead after becoming the country’s best selling vehicle for 2011. In August it went to 2990 new homes (down from 3355 in July). It was followed closely behind by the Toyota Corolla which made 2945 sales. The Holden Cruze went to 2628 new homes (up from 1875 in July).
Finally, the SUV market had two clear favourites; the Mazda CX-5 (1679) and the Holden Captiva 7 (1497). In all SUV segments, the top-sellers comprised of the following:
SUV Small under $40,000:
Nissan Dualis – 1316
Hyundai ix35 – 1113
Subaru XV – 787
SUV Small above $40,000:
Audi Q3 – 180
BMW X1 – 116
MINI Countryman – 30
SUV Medium under $60,000:
Mazda CX-5 – 1679
Nissan X-Trail – 1358
Toyota RAV4 – 1085
SUV Medium above $60,000:
Audi Q5 – 225
Range Rover Evoque – 199
BMW X3 – 197
SUV Large under $70,000:
Holden Captiva 7 – 1497
Ford Territory – 1357
Toyota Prado – 1300
SUV Large above $70,000:
Mercedes-Benz ML-Class – 332
BMW X5 – 221
Lexus RX – 189
SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
Toyota LandCruiser – 847
Nissan Patrol – 276
SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class – 60
Range Rover – 16
Lexus LX – 13
Overall, new vehicle sales in Australia increased compared with July. In August 93,552 new vehicle registrations were made, up from July 2012’s figure of 86,641. This is up on August 2011’s figure of 88,082.
