Australian new vehicle registration VFACTS figures for April 2014 have been released, with Hyundai, Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz all posting impressive figures. The Renault Megane R.S. and the new Subaru WRX also edged ahead in their respective segments.
As for the best-selling manufacturers in the country, the top ten positions did shuffle around a bit. Honda made a jump into 10th spot, pushing out Kia, while Hyundai jumped up one position into third. Hyundai managed to push down the very popular Mazda brand.
Mercedes-Benz narrowly missed out on the top ten, posting 2262 sales, while Toyota continues to lead the auto market in Australia. Toyota made over 5000 more sales than second-best Holden, however, like most manufacturers, the figure is down considerably compared with the previous month.
1. Toyota – 14,930 (down from 18,275 of March)
2. Holden – 8010 (down from 9851)
3. Hyundai – 7626 (down from 8606)
4. Mazda – 7000 (down from 9203)
5. Ford – 6449 (down from 7037)
6. Mitsubishi – 4360 (down from 5432)
7. Nissan – 4157 (down from 6014)
8. Volkswagen – 4019 (down from 4613)
9. Subaru – 2903 (down from 3812)
10. Honda – 2352 (down from 2762)
So, what was the best-selling vehicle model for the month? Toyota has held onto the top podium with the Corolla. Normally it’s neck and neck with the Mazda3 but in April, Toyota was able to edge almost 300 ahead of Mazda.
Holden done well with the new Commodore once again, although not quite as good as March figures. The top five positions remained exactly the same as the previous month. The top five models in terms of outright sales for April 2014 were as follows:
1. Toyota Corolla – 3315 (down from 4086)
2. Mazda3 – 3057 (down from 3587)
3. Toyota HiLux – 2574 (down from 3105)
4. Holden Commodore – 2443 (down from 2967)
5. Hyundai i30 – 2271 (down from 2767)
Starting in the semi-sporty Medium Cars under $60,000 segment, Toyota continues its dominance with the Camry. Toyota stood far ahead with 1235 sales, followed by the Mazda6 with 384 sales and, interestingly, the Holden Malibu moved into third place with 249 sales.
One class up in the Medium Cars over $60,000 segment, BMW powered through them all with the 3 Series in April. This pushed down the Mercedes C-Class from the previous month’s top spot, while Lexus moved its way into third spot with the IS sedan. The Audi A4 and Mercedes CLA-Class round out the top five as usual. The top five in this segment were as follows:
1. BMW 3 Series – 411 (up from 339 of March)
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 279 (down from 532)
3. Lexus IS – 237 (down from 248)
4. Audi A4 – 227 (down from 255)
5. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 160 (up from 109)
With the Aussie sedans in the Large Cars under $70,000 segment, Holden leads the way once again with the Commodore. Ford Falcon sales were low but steady on the previous month (641), selling 653, while the Toyota Aurion went to 310 new homes which is a touch more than in March (263).
Moving up a segment into the premium Large Cars over $70,000 category, Mercedes-Benz leads the way with the E-Class. Audi nudged ahead and moved into second place with the A6, pushing down the 5 Series and Jaguar XF. Lexus pushed out the CLS-Class from March to make up fifth spot with the GS sedan. The top five vehicle sales figures in this segment were as follows:
1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 130 (up from 115 of March)
2. Audi A6 – 65 (up from 55)
3. BMW 5 Series – 49 (down from 70)
4. Jaguar XF – 42 (down from 83)
5. Lexus GS – 29 (up from 23)
Over in the weekend fun Sports Car under $80,000 category, the Toyota 86 just keeps hitting home runs. Overall sales in the segment dwindled a little though. Renault was able to move into the top five for the first time with the Megane R.S. The driver’s hatch is getting a lot of media publicity at the moment as the company looks to reclaim the front-wheel drive lap record at the Nurburgring with a new special edition.
For some reason VFACTS has placed the new Subaru WRX into the small car category with the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3. The WRX posted 691 sales in April, which is very impressive. If it were in this section, where we think it should be, it would have been the best-seller. The top five sellers in the category were as follows:
1. Toyota 86 – 312 (down from 453)
2. Hyundai Veloster – 228 (down from 273)
3. BMW 1/2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 111 (down from 174)
4. Subaru BRZ – 83 (up from 70)
5. Renault Megane R.S. – 48 (down from 57)
(Subaru WRX – 691)
In the class above, the premium Sport Cars over $80,000 segment, BMW continues to enjoy the success of the new 4 Series. It outshone all others in the segment, like it did the previous month.
Most of the other front-runners remained in a similar order, although, Jaguar just made it into the top five in April with the brilliant F-Type. It almost caught the Audi A5 for fourth spot. The top five sellers in this category were as follows:
1. BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible including 3 Series – 184 (down from 297)
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe – 103 (down from 282)
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Cabrio – 97 (down from 125)
4. Audi A5 – 39 (down from 47)
5. Jaguar F-Type – 33 (up from 6)
When it comes to pure driver’s cars, the Sport Cars over $200,000 segment is where you’ll find the most desirable options. And the best-selling model is the iconic Porsche 911. It remains in top spot from March. The BMW 6 Series is still the second most popular, while Aston Martin was able to creep into fifth spot. The top five in this category were as follows:
1. Porsche 911 – 32 (up from 26 of March)
2. BMW 6 Series – 13 (down from 21)
3. Maserati (models not specified) – 10 (up from 8)
4. Bentley (models not specified) – 8 (down from 9)
5. Aston Martin (models not specified) – 9 (down from 11)
Over in one of the most popular segments in Australia, the 4×4 ute segment, the ‘unbreakable’ Toyota HiLux remains the king. Toyota sold 1883 examples in April, followed by the Holden Colorado (1032) and the Mitsubishi Triton (1023). The Isuzu D-Max is catching up, posting 809 sales for fourth spot.
Overall combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute sales moved around a bit from the previous month. The top four remained unchanged, but the Mazda BT-50 moved into fifth spot and the Isuzu D-Max moved up into sixth place thanks to the solid 4×4 sales effort. The top ten 4×2 and 4×4 combined figures for April 2014 were as follows:
1. Toyota HiLux – 2574 (down from 3105 in March)
2. Ford Ranger – 2094 (down from 2300)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 1372 (down from 1573)
4. Holden Colorado – 1260 (down from 1543)
5. Mazda BT-50 – 1001 (down from 1270)
6. Isuzu D-Max – 923 (up from 879)
7. Nissan Navara – 861 (down from 1517)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 562 (down from 860)
9. Great Wall V200 – 127 (down from 144)
10. Great Wall V240 – 49 (down from 79)
Lastly, the SUV segments saw some changes in some areas. The new Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class stormed into second place in its category. A class down, the Mitsubishi ASX posted great results, putting it into second spot, while the Toyota RAV4 overtook the very popular and often front-running Mazda CX-5.
In the premium classes, Range Rover was a clear favourite, recording excellent results with the Evoque, Range Rover Sport and the big Range Rover. The BMW X5 continues to dominate the large premium class, while the BMW X3 also posted positive results.
In all SUV segments, the top-sellers for April 2014 were as follows:
SUV Small under $40,000:
Hyundai ix35 – 1357 (down from 1508 of March)
Mitsubishi ASX – 630 (down from 745)
Subaru XV – 610 (down from 1328)
SUV Small above $40,000:
Audi Q3 – 250 (up from 235)
Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class – 160 (up from 17)
BMW X1 – 96 (down from 170)
SUV Medium under $60,000:
Toyota RAV4 – 1548 (down from 1888)
Mazda CX-5 – 1543 (down from 1932)
Nissan X-Trail – 1304 (up from 1214)
SUV Medium above $60,000:
BMW X3 – 250 (up from 196)
Audi Q5 – 222 (down from 245)
Range Rover Evoque – 215 (down from 221)
SUV Large under $70,000:
Toyota Prado – 1622 (down from 1719)
Jeep Grand Cherokee – 1014 (down from 1368)
Ford Territory – 697 (down from 900)
SUV Large above $70,000:
BMW X5 – 330 (down from 428)
Land Rover Range Rover Sport – 266 (down from 281)
Mercedes-Benz M-Class – 229 (down from 230)
SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
Toyota LandCruiser – 684 (down from 812)
Nissan Patrol – 89 (down from 171)
SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class – 59 (down from 64)
Range Rover – 24 (up from 18)
Lexus LX – 13 (up from 3)
Total new vehicle sales in Australia in April dropped considerably compared with March figures; 80,710 versus 97,267. The figure is also down on last year’s April effort (85,117). This could be due to buyers wanting to hold off on big purchases until the end of the financial year on June 30.
As for what fuel types buyers preferred in April, the sales figures for private buyers in terms of vehicle fuel were as follows (passenger, SUV, and light commercial combined):
Petrol – 29,207 (down from 38,480 of March)
Diesel – 10,179 (down from 12,250)
Hybrid – 301 (down from 318)
LPG – 11 (down from 25)
Electric – 11 (up from 10)
