Australian vehicle sales for February 2018 (VFACTS)

The 2018 February VFACTS figures for new vehicle registrations in Australia have been handed out, with the market experiencing a 6.1 per cent increase in sales for the first two months of the year compared with last year.

Starting with the most popular brands, Toyota is continuing its market domination posting almost twice as many sales as the second favourite, Mazda. Mitsubishi has moved its way up to fourth spot compared with January figures, while Volkswagen has pushed into ninth. See below for the top 10 best-selling brands during February 2018.

1. Toyota – 18,281 (up from 15,306 of January 2018 sales)
2. Mazda – 9913 (down from 10,113)
3. Hyundai – 8001 (up from 7124)
4. Mitsubishi – 7142 (up from 5263)
5. Ford – 6059 (up from 5645)
6. Honda – 4962 (up from 4581)
7. Nissan – 4863 (up from 4707)
8. Holden – 4689 (down from 5719)
9. Volkswagen – 4671 (up from 3970)
10. Kia – 4664 (up from 4531)

What was the most popular vehicle model for the month? The Toyota HiLux is at it again, off to a flying start for 2018 as it will no doubt be looking to back its overall win in 2017. In the popular Corolla versus Mazda3 battle, it looks like the Corolla is getting back at Mazda from the previous month. The Mazda3 has posted 6136 sales in the first two months of the year against the Corolla’s 6046 sales. The top 10 best-selling vehicles for February 2018 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 4426 (up from 3860 in January)
2. Ford Ranger – 3544 (up from 3260)
3. Toyota Corolla – 3270 (up from 2776)
4. Mazda3 – 2935 (down from 3201)
5. Mazda CX-5 – 2191 (up from 2152)
6. Hyundai i30 – 2182 (up from 1850)
7. Mitsubishi Triton – 1894 (up from 1582)
8. Toyota RAV4 – 1841 (up from 1780)
9. Volkswagen Golf – 1786 (up from 1629)
10. Nissan Navara – 1779 (up from 1578)

Small Cars under $40,000 – As mentioned, the Mazda3 is off to the better start so far this year but the Corolla is on the offence for the month of Feb. Hyundai’s i30 is the next favourite behind the two Japanese models, and the VW Golf looks like it’s creeping up. The top 10 best-selling small cars in February 2018 were as follows:

1. Toyota Corolla – 3270 (up from 2776)
2. Mazda3 – 2935 (down from 3201)
3. Hyundai i30 – 2182 (up from 1850)
4. Volkswagen Golf – 1649 (up from 1523)
5. Kia Cerato – 1491 (up from 1432)
6. Honda Civic – 1409 (up from 1293)
7. Holden Astra – 1008 (up from 813)
8. Mitsubishi Lancer – 938 (up from 705)
9. Subaru Impreza – 824 (down from 920)
10. Ford Focus – 516 (up from 512)

Medium Cars under $60,000 – There’s has been some speculation and predictions that suggested we’d see a drop in Camry sales after local manufacturing ceased. However, the latest model is proving just as popular, if not more popular than before. In the first two months of this year the new model has reported 2135 sales (likely included some previous model sales), up 4.0 per cent on 2053 sales it posted in the same period in 2017. The top five best-selling models in this class for February 2018 were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 1381 (up from 754 of January)
2. Mazda6 – 233 (down from 254)
3. Ford Mondeo – 196 (up from 133)
4. Skoda Octavia – 150 (up from 141)
5. Subaru Liberty – 140 (equal)

Medium Cars over $60,000 – Mercedes is off to a good start for 2018, posting decent figures with the C-Class and CLA, leaving only the BMW 3 Series at arms’ length. Sales in the segment overall so far this year are down 15.6 per cent compared with the same two-month period in 2017. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during Feb 2018 were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 495 (up from 492)
2. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 292 (up from 250)
3. BMW 3 Series – 238 (down from 244)
4. Audi A4 – 112 (up from 96)
5. Lexus IS – 94 (up from 76)

Large Cars under $70,000 – In perhaps one of the more interesting segments, in terms of how things are changing, we see the new Commodore seems to be selling okay. However, existing VF models are likely still be sold after production stopped in October. The new Kia Stinger is, as expected, looking bright in the class and is probably one to watch going forward. Some how the Ford Falcon has posted two sales during this month. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for February 2018 were as follows:

1. Holden Commodore – 737 (down from 871 from January)
2. Kia Stinger – 174 (up from 139)
3. Skoda Superb – 66 (up from 50)
4. Toyota Aurion – 26 (down from 58)
5. Ford Falcon – 2 (up from 0)

Large Cars over $70,000 – Stepping up a class, we see the Mercedes E-Class is on the right track to repeat its class-leading result in 2017. Although, it looks like the BMW 5 Series is catching up, at least in February. Further down the list the Maserati Ghibli is still looking pretty good and posting okay sales, with the Volvo S90 rounding out the top five. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment in February 2018 were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 93 (down from 178)
2. BMW 5 Series – 73 (up from 46)
3. Maserati Ghibli – 30 (down from 41)
4. Volvo S90 – 12 (down from 26)
5. Audi A6 – 11 (equal)

Sports Car under $80,000 – Over in the entry sports car market, the Ford Mustang is still soldiering on and making ground ahead of the rivals. The BMW 2 Series has moved up into second spot in Feb, with the Mazda MX-5 making a surprise appearance in third. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for February 2018 were as follows:

1. Ford Mustang – 492 (up from 440 of January)
2. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 175 (up from 109)
3. Mazda MX-5 – 123 (up from 70)
4. Toyota 86 – 88 (up from 85)
5. Subaru BRZ – 67 (down from 71)
   (Subaru WRX – 181 [down from 201] – not officially in this segment, shown for comparison)

Sport Cars over $80,000 – In the pricier class, the Mercedes C-Class two-door is still going strong but we see the new Audi A5 is reporting some promise. The top five best-selling models in this category for February 2018 were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 134 (down from 153)
2. Audi A5 – 62 (up from 42)
3. BMW 4 Series Coupe – 52 (down from 131)
4. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 37/Lexus RC – 37
5. Audi TT – 24 (up from 14)

Sport Cars over $200,000 – As for the pin-up poster cars, the Porsche 911 has set its feet firmly on the ground as the king. The Mercedes-AMG GT is looking good for February, while Ferrari seems to be consistently posting decent sales. The top five best-selling vehicles in the class during February 2018 were as follows:

1. Porsche 911 – 63 (down from 73)
2. Mercedes-AMG GT – 26 (up from 13)
3. Ferrari (not specified) – 16 (down from 27)
4. Lamborghini (not specified) – 13 (up from 10)
5. Aston Martin – 11 (down from 13)

Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute – The Toyota HiLux just keeps on keeping on, posting consistent high numbers every month. It’s virtually unstoppable. However, the Ford Ranger is not too far behind. The Triton is back in third spot, while the Isuzu has moved up to fifth spot from January’s seventh spot effort. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined – excludes LandCruiser) for February 2018 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 4426 (up from 3860 from January)
2. Ford Ranger – 3544 (up from 3260)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 1894 (up from 1533)
4. Nissan Navara – 1779 (up from 1578)
5. Isuzu D-Max – 1222 (up from 983)
6. Mazda BT-50 – 1203 (up from 1034)
7. Holden Colorado – 1039 (down from 1390)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 611 (up from 459)
9. Great Wall Steed – 31 (up from 9)
10. All remaining models posted 0 sales

As for the ever-growing SUV segments, some of the standout movers in February were the Audi Q5, posting impressive sales in its segment, much higher than usual, with the Lexus NX also setting decent numbers in comparison to previous months. Meanwhile, the Mazda CX-5 posted the biggest number overall for SUVs, as usual, far outselling its nearest rival, the Toyota RAV4.

During February, the ‘Medium under $60,000’ segment was the favourite, posting 14,418 sales, which is up 20.2 per cent on February 2017. The ‘Large under $70,000’ moves back into second spot from third in the previous month, posting 9428 sales. This is up 1.8 per cent on last year. Rounding out the top three SUV classes, the ‘Small under $40,000’ segment posted 9102 sales, up 24.0 per cent.

The top three best-selling SUVs in all categories for February 2018 were as follows:

• SUV Small under $40,000:
  Mazda CX-3 – 1562 (down from 1582 in January)
  Honda HR-V – 1067 (up from 1002)
  Subaru XV – 1045 (down from 1108)
• SUV Small above $40,000:
  BMW X1 – 349 (up from 325)
  Mercedes-Benz GLA – 323 (down from 374)
  Audi Q2 – 265 (up from 183)
• SUV Medium under $60,000:
  Mazda CX-5 – 2191 (up from 2152)
  Toyota RAV4 – 1841 (up from 1780)
  Nissan X-Trail – 1622 (down from 1668)
• SUV Medium above $60,000:
  Audi Q5 – 414 (up from 321)
  BMW X3 – 361 (down from 511)
  Lexus NX – 350 (up from 288)
• SUV Large under $70,000:
  Toyota Kluger – 1420 (up from 897)
  Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1323 (up from 1169)
  Subaru Outback – 821 (down from 845)
• SUV Large above $70,000:
  BMW X5 – 254 (up from 199)
  Audi Q7 – 203 (down from 206)
  Range Rover Sport – 194 (down from 209)
• SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser – 1085 (up from 927)
  Nissan Patrol – 123 (up from 91)
• SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class/GL – 81 (up from 62)
  Range Rover – 25 (down from 27)
  Lexus LX – 24 (up from 20)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in February were up on January figures. During February, Australian consumers bought 95,999 vehicles according to VFACTS compared with 88,551 in January. However, sales for the month are up 4.3 per cent compared with February 2017.