The official VFACTS figures for Australian new vehicle registrations for April 2012 are out, and it’s the Toyota HiLux that has come back on top, overtaking the much-loved Mazda3.
According to the figures, 3565 2012 Toyota HiLux vehicles were registered last month (up from 3561 of March), comprising of 881 4×2, and 2684 4×4 sales. The total figure is up from the April 2011 effort of 2889.
So what happened to the Mazda3, well, sales dropped off to 3005 last month, down from a record 3818 sales of March 2012. Humble Holden Commodore sales are still slowly dwindling, with 2248 new registrations in April – down from 3187 from the previous month, and down from April last year (3075).
Like March 2012, the Sports Car category under $80,000 was dominated by the new Hyundai Veloster, with 297 sales in April, slightly down from the March figure of 306. It was yet again followed by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe which went to 207 new homes, up from 186 of last month. The BMW 1 Series Coupe/Convertible then rounded out the top three with 127 sales (up from 116).
Other interesting highlights included the new MINI Coupe, which went to 17 new homes last month, and the MINI Roadster, which went to 22 new homes. Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet sales experienced growth, going from 72 sales in March, to 117 last month.
In the Sport Cars over $80,000 category, the BMW 3 Series Coupe/Convertible has overtaken last month’s favourite, with 86 sales, followed by the Audi A5, with 60 sales. Rounding out the top three was the Mercedes-Benz SLK posting 43 sales. The Nissan GT-R went to seven buyers again, while the Porsche Boxster went to four new homes.
For the Sports Cars above $200,000 category, one Lexus LFA was sold, strangely (it was previously thought all 11 were sold), while the clear favourite was the Porsche 911, recording 28 sales – the same figure as the previous month.
The BMW 6 Series Coupe/Convertible slotted in as the second favourite recording 16 sales, overtaking the Jaguar XK (four sales) from the previous month. The third favourite was the Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio recording 13 sales (up from seven in March 2012).
In the popular sports 4×4 Ute category, the 2012 Toyota HiLux stood out, obviously, with 2684 sales, with the Nissan Navara coming in once again as the second most popular.
The Navara 4×4 was sold to 1484 buyers in April (1590 4×2 and 4×4 combined), down from 2324 in March (2494 combined), with the Mitsubishi Triton 4×4 rounding out the top three with 1041 sales, down from 1186 in March.
The new Ford Ranger experienced some growth (full review coming soon), with 909 sales, up from 684 in March 2012, while the Mazda BT-50 counterpart recorded a drop from 860 sales in March, to 689 sales in April.
For the somewhat sporty Medium cars under $60,000 category, the new 2012 Toyota Camry was a clear favourite once again, recording 1602 sales, down hugely from the previous month’s effort of 2341.
It was followed by the Mazda6, with 478 sales (down from 561 of March 2012), and the Honda Accord Euro, with 458. The Accord Euro pushed the Mondeo out of the top three in this category, with the Mondeo going to 307 new homes last month (down from 455 from the previous month).
As for the very popular Small cars under $40,000 segment, the Mazda3 still maintains its segment dominance with 3005 sales, followed by the Toyota Corolla with 2573 sales, and then the Holden Cruze with 2315 sales. All figures are down from March 2012 figures.
Lastly, the SUV market saw some interesting highlights. The 2012 BMW X5 was the clear favourite in the SUV Large above $70,000 bracket, reporting 207 sales, with Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover Sport sales, 82 and 86 respectively, dropping off from the previous month’s class-leading effort of 257 and 224.
As for the rest of the SUV sales 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 just-launched Mazda CX-5 stood out as an obvious favourite, going to 1413 new homes in April. Range Rover Evoque sales climbed from 216 in March, to 260 last month, while the Toyota Prado was the overall favourite with 1725 sales.
The motoring market in Australia dropped off last month, compared with March 2012, with 79,097 total sales compared with 97,616. Sales are up from this time last year though, when 74,214 sales were made.
“It was sold to 1484 buyers in April (up from 2324 sales in March)”
Wut?
Edited.
Cheers