The official VFACTS figures for Australian new vehicle registrations for September 2012 have been released, and it’s Mazda that dominated overall, with the Mazda3 going to a record 4276 consumers.
Mazda also topped sales in other segments, helping the company achieve more than 10,000 sales during the month. This is the first time in Australian automotive history that a full-line importer has surpassed 10,000, hitting 10,093 vehicle sales.
As for the popular rivalries, the Hyundai Veloster remained as top-seller in the Sports Car under $60,000 segment with 328 sales (down from 378 of August), ahead of the Toyota 86 which landed 119 sales (down from 302). The second-best seller in the category was the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe with 198 sales, followed by the BMW 1 Series Convertible/Coupe with 117 sales as fourth favourite.
For the Australian sedans in the Large Cars under $70,000 segment, the Holden Commodore remains the favourite, posting 2532 sales (up from 2435). The Ford Falcon (G6 E Turbo review here) went to 1188 new homes (down from 1353), while the Toyota Aurion saw a big climb, reporting 721 sales from the previous month’s 564.
In the Large Cars over $70,000 category, the BMW 5 Series remains the favourite, recording 83 sales. It was followed by a number of interesting changes. The Jaguar XF sat as second most-popular with 51 sales, followed by the new Lexus GS with 47 sales. The two pushed out the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (41) from the top three.
Moving into the Sport Cars over $80,000 category, the Audi A5 moved up into top spot with 56 sales, followed by the BMW 3 Series Convertible/Coupe with 48 sales. Third favourite for September 2012 was the Mercedes-Benz SLK which put down 38 sales.
In the Sports Cars above $200,000 category, BMW moved up into top spot with the 6 Series, overtaking the usual favourite, the Porsche 911, with 29 sales versus 20 sales, respectively. The 6er was followed by Mercedes-Benz SL-Class with 14 sales, and 13 Maserati sales (specific model undisclosed). Ferrari also sold nine vehicles, and Lamborghini sold two.
In the popular 4×4 Ute segment, the 2012 Toyota HiLux was a standout once again, recording 2366 sales (down from 2923 of August), followed by the Mitsubishi Triton which went to 1763 new homes (up significantly from 951). The Nissan Navara 4×4 rounded out the top three, reporting 1582 sales.
Total ute sales (4×2 and 4×4 combined) for September 2012 ran in this order:
Toyota HiLux: 3479
Mitsubishi Triton: 2326
Nissan Navara: 1812
Ford Ranger: 1801
Holden Colorado: 1697
Mazda BT-50: 1124
Isuzu D-Max: 591
Volkswagen Amarok: 573
Great Wall V200: 351
Ssangyong Actyon Sports: 41
Great Wall V240: 183
In the semi-sporty Medium Cars under $60,000 category, the 2012 Toyota Camry maintains its big lead with 2267 sales (up from 2130), followed by the Mazda6 with 695 sales. The Ford Mondeo rounded out the top three with 366 sales.
For the sports/luxury Medium Cars over $60,000 category, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class overtook the new BMW 3 Series (2012 BMW 320i Sport Line review here), with 560 versus 517 sales, respectively. The Audi A4 rounded out the top three with 224 sales, followed by the Lexus IS range – IS 250, 350 and IS F – with 122 sales (IS 250; 78, IS 350; 37, IS F; 7).
Back to Australia’s favourite car and the Small Cars under $40,000 segment, the Mazda3 (4276) was followed by the new Hyundai i30 which went to 3144 new homes, overtaking the Toyota Corolla which went to 3133 homes (up from 2945).
Lastly, the SUV segment was dominated by Mazda and its CX-5 which went to 1809 (1679) new homes. The CX-5 was followed by the Nissan X-Trail in overall SUV sales, reporting 1448 sales, and the Toyota Prado with 1204 sales.
In all SUV segments, the top-sellers comprised of the following:
SUV Small under $40,000:
Hyundai ix35 – 935
Nissan Dualis – 920
Mitsubishi ASX – 780
SUV Small above $40,000:
Audi Q3 – 295
BMW X1 – 141
MINI Countryman – 37
SUV Medium under $60,000:
Mazda CX-5 – 1809
Nissan X-Trail – 1448
Toyota RAV4 – 1116
SUV Medium above $60,000:
Audi Q5 – 295
BMW X3 – 279
Range Rover Evoque – 220
SUV Large under $70,000:
Toyota Prado – 1204
Toyota Kluger – 1110
Ford Territory – 1096
SUV Large above $70,000:
Mercedes-Benz ML-Class – 333
Volkswagen Touareg – 267
BMW X5 – 194
SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
Toyota LandCruiser – 789
Nissan Patrol – 252
SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class – 30
Range Rover – 14
Lexus LX – 10
Overall, new vehicle sales in Australia increased slightly compared with August 2012, with 94,627 sales compared with 93,552. This is up considerably on September 2011 figures of 86,819.
