Australian vehicle sales for April 2022 (VFACTS)

Brett Davis 3 years ago

Australian new vehicle registrations figures have been released for April 2022, in the form of the VFACTS report, revealing a slow market partly due to global production backlog issues facing many industries.

According to the charts, 81,065 new vehicles were registered in April in Australia (we’ll call them sales). That’s down 12.2 per cent compared with April last year, and contributes to a 3.5 per cent downturn on year-to-date figures (YTD).

NSW saw the most sales again, with 25,432 units (down 12.7 per cent on April 2021), followed by Victoria with 21,339 sales (down 11 per cent), and then Queensland with 17,424 units (down 11.2 per cent).

In other states, Western Australia reported 7896 sales (down 20.4 per cent), South Australia contributed 5459 sales (down 6.2 per cent), and Tasmania added 1466 units (down 7.9 per cent). In the territories, the  ACT recorded 1201 units (down 14.9 per cent), and the Northern Territory reported 848 units (down 4.8 per cent).

TOP 10 BEST-SELLING CAR BRANDS IN AUSTRALIA

Invincible Toyota stands at the top, again. It recorded 17,956 sales in April. That’s actually down compared with last April, by 11.1 per cent – if Toyota is seeing downturns you know the industry is struggling. So far this year the Japanese auto giant is down 0.9 per cent.

Mazda remains in second spot with 7378 sales, which is down 26.6 per cent for the month and down 1.2 per cent YTD, with Mitsubishi rounding out the top three with 6463 sales. That’s down 14 per cent for the month but it contributes to a 17.7 per cent increase across YTD.

Kia is on a good run, with its figure of 6180 units up 8.3 per cent for the month, contributing to a 3.3 per cent increase so far this year. In other parts of the top 10, we see Tesla certainly took a dive from March. It reported just 52 sales in April. We’ve heard its March figure of 4417 units was actually an accumulation of the first three months of this year. Even so, with just 52 units recorded in April, something certainly seems odd.

See below for the top 10 best-selling vehicle brands overall in Australia during April 2022:

  1. Toyota – 17,956 (down from 21,828 in March 2022)
  2. Mazda – 7378 (down from 11,248)
  3. Mitsubishi – 6463 (down from 9007)
  4. Kia – 6180 (up from 6051)
  5. Hyundai – 5552 (down from 6516)
  6. Ford – 4974 (up from 4245)
  7. MG – 4773 (up from 3962)
  8. Isuzu – 3032 (down from 3306)
  9. Mercedes-Benz – 2307 (down from 2397)
  10. Nissan – 2050 (down from 3168)

TOP 10 BEST-SELLING PREMIUM CAR BRANDS IN AUSTRALIA

Over in the luxury market, Mercedes-Benz is obviously at the top considering it made the cut for the overall top 10, listed above. Benz sales are up 7.3 per cent for the month but down 19.6 per cent across YTD.

Its arch rival, BMW, recorded 1663 units, which is down 22.8 per cent for the month and down 15.5 per cent YTD. Rounding out the top three, Audi shifted 1036 units, and that’s down 19.1 per cent and down 34 per cent, respectively.

Further down the list, Land Rover moved up a couple of positions from the previous month, while Jaguar joined Polestar for an equal ninth spot. All brands saw a downturn in figures for the month compared with the previous month (March this year).

See below for the top 10 best-selling premium car brands in Australia during April 2022:

  1. Mercedes-Benz – 2307 (down from 2397)
  2. BMW – 1663 (down from 1824)
  3. Audi – 1036 (down from 1185)
  4. Volvo – 854 (down from 1043)
  5. Land Rover – 585 (down from 726)
  6. Lexus – 552 (down from 855)
  7. Porsche – 481 (down from 730)
  8. MINI – 202 (up from 173)
  9. Polestar – 93 (down from 115) / Jaguar – 93 (down from 111)
  10. Tesla – 52 (down from 4417)

TOP 10 BEST-SELLING VEHICLES IN AUSTRALIA

The Toyota HiLux continues as the best-seller for the month, followed by the Ford Ranger. We suspect the new Ranger will stir things up a bit when it arrives very soon. Four utes make up the top 10, again proving their growing popularity.

Most of the other nameplates in the top 10 remained from the previous month this year, only with the Toyota LandCruiser joining the list this time. It seems to jump in and out of the top 10 throughout the year. In this section it does include all LandCruiser models though, including the 70 Series ute as well as the new 300 LandCruiser.

The top 10 best-selling vehicles in Australia during April 2022 were as follows:

  1. Toyota HiLux – 4493 (down from 6324 in March)
  2. Ford Ranger – 3581 (up from 2960)
  3. Toyota RAV4 – 3373 (down from 4610)
  4. Mazda CX-5 – 2701 (down from 3772)
  5. Isuzu D-Max – 2374 (down from 2447)
  6. Mitsubishi Triton – 2357 (down from 3808)
  7. Toyota Corolla – 2202 (up from 1924)
  8. Hyundai i30 – 2071 (down from 2455)
  9. MG ZS – 1923 (up from 1756)
  10. Toyota LandCruiser – 1665 (down from 1832)

SMALL CARS UNDER $40,000

In the humble small cars class, the Toyota Corolla is ahead of the pack for the month. But it isn’t the leader for sales so far this year. That goes to the Hyundai i30. The i30 has recorded 7924 sales YTD, compared with 7239 Corollas. The Kia Cerato still has some catching up to do but isn’t that far behind, recording 4641 units.

It looks like the new Subaru WRX might be getting some numbers on the board, with the all-new model scheduled to launch next week. It managed to move up into seventh position in this class for the month, following just 2 new registrations the previous month. It’s impossible to tell if these are of the new model or existing stock.

In other areas we see the new Honda Civic isn’t really catching on, with dwindling numbers once again. So far this year the iconic nameplate has recorded just 228 sales, and that’s down 84.6 per cent on the same four-month period last year. Perhaps this is due to the skyrocketing new price?

Overall class figures topped 6023 units, which translates to a downturn of 24.8 per cent YTD and a 20.3 per cent decline on last April. See below for the top 10 best-selling small cars in Australia during April 2022:

  1. Toyota Corolla – 2202 (up from 1924 in March)
  2. Hyundai i30 – 2071 (down from 2455)
  3. Kia Cerato – 1007 (down from 1238)
  4. Mazda3 – 264 (down from 1183)
  5. Subaru Impreza – 160 (up from 117)
  6. Hyundai Ioniq – 93 (up from 83)
  7. Subaru WRX – 63 (up from 2)
  8. Honda Civic – 61 (up from 58)
  9. Volkswagen Golf – 60 (down from 175)
  10. Skoda Scala – 25 (down from 63)

SMALL CARS OVER $40,000

Premium small cars were dominated by the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, again. It posted a strong April effort, managing to increase on last April’s sales by 24.2 per cent. The BMW 1 Series went out to less than half as many buyers, with its month-to-month trend showing a downturn of 50.9 per cent. Both models are seeing drops YTD, however. Meanwhile the Audi A3 is up by 40.4 per cent YTD.

Segment numbers reached 563 units in April, while the year-to-date trend is 38.3 per cent down and 22.8 per cent down on last April.  See below for the top five best-selling vehicles in this segment during April 2022:

  1. Mercedes-Benz A-Class – 267 (down from 365)
  2. BMW 1 Series – 105 (down from 109)
  3. Audi A3 – 86 (down from 141)
  4. BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe – 42 (down from 44)
  5. Nissan LEAF – 34 (down from 82)

MEDIUM CARS UNDER $60,000

In the standard sedan class the most well-known standard sedan, the Toyota Camry, tops the charts. But its numbers did drop quite a bit compared with the previous month, and dropped 56.6 per cent compared with last April. This could be due to production delays brought on by the global chip shortage. It still managed to beat its nearest rival, posting almost three times as many units.

Segment figures hit 916 new registrations, which is down 42.2 per cent on last April. The year-to-date number is actually up, 2.5 per cent. See below for the top five best-selling vehicles in this class during April 2022:

  1. Toyota Camry – 519 (down from 920)
  2. Skoda Octavia – 182 (down from 197)
  3. Mazda6 – 135 (down from 147)
  4. Hyundai Sonata – 37 (down from 42)
  5. Volkswagen Passat – 33 (down from 56)

MEDIUM CARS OVER $60,000

Stepping up to the luxury mid-sizers, the new Mercedes C-Class seems to be picking up, standing at the top of the class for the month. That initial explosive burst of numbers from the Tesla Model 3 have pretty much fizzled out to more realistic figures for April, with 52 units registered.

The Polestar 2 is still going pretty strong, while the BMW 4 Series jumped back into the top five for the month. The new i4, which is listed as a seperate model to the 4 Series for some reason, recorded 12 units.

This segment reported 1352 sales during the month, which as you may notice is higher than the non-premium class above. However, there are 18 seperate models listed in this class compared with just 10 models in the class mentioned above. Year-to-date figures are up 26.7 per cent, and up 97.7 per cent compared with last April.

The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment during April 2022 were as follows:

  1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 477 (up from 192)
  2. BMW 3 Series – 212 (down from 335)
  3. Mercedes-Benz CLA – 129 (down from 203)
  4. BMW 4 Series – 114 (up from 53)
  5. Polestar 2 – 93 (down from 115)

LARGE CARS UNDER $70,000

Kia Stinger sales experienced a nice little blip in April, with its figure up 203.8 per cent compared with last April. Year-to-date, the sports sedan is up 53.3 per cent.

As for the two-model class in total, 395 units were registered. That’s up 114.7 per cent on last April, contributing to a 39.2 per cent increase on year-to-date. The only vehicles listed in this class in VFACTS for April 2022 reported the following figures:

  1. Kia Stinger – 316 (up from 236 in March)
  2. Skoda Superb – 79 (up from 73)

LARGE CARS OVER $70,000

In the large premium class the Porsche Taycan is still going very strong, topping the charts here again. The BMW 5 Series and Audi A6 were neck and neck in April, leaving the Mercedes E-Class to dwindle in the shadows.

Segment numbers reached 164 units for the month, which is down 42.3 per cent on last April. Year-to-date the class is experiencing a 42.3 per cent decline. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment during April 2022 were as follows:

  1. Porsche Taycan – 58 (down from 75)
  2. Audi A6 – 26 (up from 23)
  3. BMW 5 Series – 25 (down from 29)
  4. Audi A7 – 13 (up from 8)
  5. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 12 (down from 47)

SPORTS CARS UNDER $80,000

It looks as though the new Subaru BRZ will soon overtake the ever-popular Ford Mustang, with figures getting very close in April. The new Toyota GR 86 is about to join the ranks as well, which could further pull down Mustang figures. Let’s see.

This segment reported 240 sales in April overall, and that’s down 45.3 per cent on last April. The YTD tally stands at a 33.8 per cent decline. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during April 2022 were as follows:

  1. Ford Mustang – 97 (down from 117 in March 2022)
  2. Subaru BRZ – 83 (up from 65)
  3. Mazda MX-5 – 28 (down from 33)
  4. BMW 2 Series – 21 (down from 68)
  5. MINI Cabrio – 11 (down from 23)

SPORT CARS OVER $80,000

Here we see the BMW 4 Series is maintaining its lead, ahead of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class two-door and Audi A5. Toyota GR Supra figures are hanging in there, but it will be interesting to see how the updated model, including the introduction of a manual transmission option, will play out for the legendary nameplate later this year.

Overall, the segment reported 169 sales during April, which is down 50.7 per cent on last April. The YTD tally is 28.1 per cent down on the same four-month period last year. The top five best-selling models in this segment during April 2022 were as follows:

  1. BMW 4 Series – 58 (down from 73)
  2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 28 (down from 70)
  3. Audi A5 – 20 (up from 18)
  4. Toyota Supra – 16 (down from 17)
  5. Chevrolet Corvette – 10 (down from 13)

SPORT CARS OVER $200,000

Upper-end driver’s cars were led by the Porsche 911 again, and its YTD figure is up an impressive 29.8 per cent. Ferrari continues to post consist numbers, and quite high for such an exotic carmaker, while Bentley is up there as well. The BMW 8 Series and Aston Martin matched each other for the second month in a row.

Class figures hit 86 units in April. That’s down 15.7 per cent on last April, and contributes to a 4.2 per cent decline on YTD efforts. See below for the top five best-selling vehicles in this class during April 2022:

  1. Porsche 911 – 40 (down from 61)
  2. Ferrari Coupe/Convertible – 15 (down from 20)
  3. Bentley Coupe/Convertible – 10 (equal)
  4. BMW 8 Series – 6 (equal) / Aston Martin Coupe/Convertible – 6 (equal)
  5. McLaren Coupe/Convertible – 4 (equal) / Maserati Coupe/Convertible – 4 (up from 2)

COMBINED 4×2 AND 4×4 UTES

Into the rugged workhorses, and obviously the Toyota HiLux wins the race here given it was the best-selling nameplate overall in April. Elsewhere in the combined 4×2 and 4×4 class, the Ford Ranger is back into second spot after sitting third in March, while the Isuzu D-Max jumps to third, overtaking the Triton.

See below for the top eight 4×2 and 4×4 combined model sales for April 2022:

  1. Toyota HiLux – 4493 (down from 6324 in March)
  2. Ford Ranger – 3581 (up from 2960)
  3. Isuzu D-Max – 2374 (down from 2447)
  4. Mitsubishi Triton – 2357 (down from 3808)
  5. Mazda BT-50 – 1333 (down from 1628)
  6. Nissan Navara – 869 (down from 1488)
  7. Great Wall Motors Ute – 325 (up from 100)
  8. Great Wall Steed – 0 (down from 0)

Over in the 4×4-exclusive ute segment, the LandCruiser 70 Series remains in front. The RAM 1500 moved up to third spot for the month, while the Chevrolet Silverado booted out the Jeep Gladiator in the top five standings. See below for the top five best-selling vehicles in this segment during April 2022:

  1. Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series – 836 (down from 988)
  2. Volkswagen Amarok – 426 (down from 476)
  3. RAM 1500 – 410 (up from 400)
  4. LDV T60 – 285 (down from 294)
  5. Chevrolet Silverado – 116 (up from 87)

BEST-SELLING SUVS IN ALL SEGMENTS

Lastly, the fastest-growing vehicle class of all, the SUVs. The Toyota RAV4 was the best-selling model overall for the month, with its YTD tally of 13,862 standing at a positive of just 0.1 per cent. Meanwhile, the best-selling premium SUV overall was the BMW X3. Its YTD figure of 1533 is up 7.3 per cent.

As for the segments, the medium sub-$60k sector reported the highest demand, with 13,586 sales in April (up 2.1 per cent YTD), followed by the large sub-$70k class with 9450 sales (up 9.7 per cent YTD), and then the small sub-$40k segment with 8844 new registrations (down 9.3 per cent).

See below for the top five best-selling SUVs in all segments during April 2022:

SUV Light (no price range):

SUV Small under $40,000:

SUV Small above $40,000:

SUV Medium under $60,000:

SUV Medium above $60,000:

  • BMW X3 – 483 (up from 373)
  • Mercedes-Benz GLC – 397 (down from 458)
  • Volvo XC60 – 376 (down from 451)
  • Audi Q5 – 265 (up from 144)
  • Porsche Macan – 263 (down from 374)

SUV Large under $70,000:

SUV Large above $70,000:

SUV Upper Large under $100,000:

SUV Upper Large above $100,000:

  • Lexus LX – 80 (up from 0)
  • BMW X7 – 64 (down from 68)
  • Mercedes-Benz GLS – 51 (up from 46)
  • Mercedes-Benz G-Class – 28 (up from 25)
  • Audi Q8 – 21 (doqn from 27)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in April 2022 down up on March 2022 figures. During April 2022, Australian consumers bought 81,065 vehicles according to VFACTS, as mentioned, compared with 101,233 in March. Overall sales for the month are down 12.2 per cent compared with April 2021, and down 3.5 per cent year-to-date.

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