Australian vehicle sales for December 2015 – best of the year

Yes, it’s that time of year again – already. The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has released the VFACTS vehicle sales figures for December, uncovering the best-sellers of 2015.

At the top of the bunch is once again Toyota. It reported the highest vehicle sales figure out of all brands available in Australia during 2015, selling a hefty 206,236 units. Amazingly, this is actually up 1.3 per cent on 2014 year-to-date figures.

Toyota also proved the most popular in the month of December. Its sales for the month was up 11.6 per cent on December 2014. Mazda stands in second place for the month and for the year, bettering Holden for the first time in annual efforts. The top ten brands for December 2015 and 2015 overall are as follows:

1. Toyota – 21,217 (up from 18,402 of November 2015)
2. Mazda – 9708 (down from 9807)
3. Holden – 9146 (up from 8889)
4. Mitsubishi – 7500 (up from 5169)
5. Hyundai – 7159 (down from 8416)
6. Ford – 6290 (down from 6332)
7. Nissan – 5012 (down from 7229)
8. Volkswagen – 4458 (up from 4441)
9. Subaru – 3609 (down from 3884)
10. Mercedes-Benz – 3443 (up from 3034)

Top vehicle brands in 2015 overall:

1. Toyota – 206,236 (up from 203,501 of 2014)
2. Mazda – 114,024 (up from 100,704)
3. Holden – 102,951 (down from 106,092)
4. Hyundai – 102,004 (up from 100,011)
5. Mitsubishi – 71,743 (up from 68,637)
6. Ford – 70,454 (down from 79,703)
7. Nissan – 66,062 (up from 66,025)
8. Volkswagen – 60,225 (up from 54,801)
9. Subaru – 43,600 (up from 40,502)
10. Honda – 40,100 (up from 32,998)

As for the best-selling vehicle models of 2015, it was the Toyota Corolla across the line first. It has been fighting with the Mazda3 for top spot all year, but in the end it just nudged in front of the Japanese stablemate. See our previous report for the top 10 best-selling cars of 2015 for more.

During the month of December, specifically, Toyota punched out a record-breaking number of Camry sedans. This left the Corolla and Mazda3 to fight for second and third for the first time. Holden was nowhere to be seen with the Commodore which regularly sits in the top five. The top five models in terms of outright sales for December 2015 were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 5321 (up from 3025 of November 2015)
2. Toyota Corolla – 3469 (up from 3430)
3. Mazda3 – 3445 (up from 3104)
4. Toyota HiLux – 3133 (down from 3369)
5. Ford Ranger – 2836 (down from 3028)

In Medium Cars under $60,000 the Toyota Camry obviously bettered all others. Not only did it outsell the Mazda6 (459) and Subaru Liberty (308) runner-ups, it posted the highest-ever four-cylinder Camry sales figure for a month period. The Camry was also the best-seller of the year, reporting 27,654, compared with the Mazda6’s 5276 and Subaru Liberty’s 4097 year-to-date figures.

Moving into the Medium Cars over $60,000 class, sales were down for December compared with November for almost all models. The Mercedes C-Class remains at the top though, almost doubling the sales of the BMW 3 Series for the month. The top five in this segment for December and for 2015 overall were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 571 (down from 666)
2. BMW 3 Series – 287 (down from 314)
3. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 262 (down from 277)
4. Audi A4 – 147 (down from 205)/Jaguar XE – 147 (up from 119)
5. Lexus IS – 77 (down from 139)

Top five in 2015 overall:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 9373 (up from 5845 of 2014)
2. BMW 3 Series – 4146 (down from 4588)
3. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 3659 (up from 2682)
4. Audi A4 – 2478 (down from 2635)
5. Lexus IS – 2036 (down from 2686)

In the more affordable Large Cars under $70,000 segment, Holden has come through to hold the best-seller crown for December and for 2015 overall. The local brand sold 2622 Commodores in the month, totalling 27,770 for 2015.

Sitting in third place is the Ford Falcon. It reported just 333 sales for the month and 5938 for the year. This left the door open for the Toyota Aurion to claim second place for the month with 829 sales. The Toyota couldn’t beat the Falcon for yearly figures though, with 4306 units sold for the year.

Interestingly, year-to-date figures have dropped the most for the Toyota. Numbers are down 16.6 per cent on 2014 year-to-date efforts, while Holden Commodore sales are down 8.1 per cent, and Falcon sales dropping the least at 6.5 per cent.

Over in the Large Cars over $70,000 class, the top five lineup remains mostly unchanged from November. The Maserati Ghibli has been booted out though, by the Lexus GS, likely thanks to the announcement of a model refresh. The top five in this segment for December and for 2015 were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 275 (up from 116 of November)
2. BMW 5 Series – 92 (up from 57)
3. Audi A6 – 78 (up from 28)
4. Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class – 38 (up from 28)
5. Lexus GS – 22 (up from 2)

Top five in 2015 overall:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 1428 (down from 1570 of 2014)
2. BMW 5 Series – 1038 (up from 882)
3. Audi A6 – 554 (down from 617)
4. Jaguar XF – 487 (down from 846)
5. Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class – 451 (up from 377)

For the driving fans, the Sports Car under $80,000 class favourites didn’t change much for December. The Mazda MX-5 continues its recent success and dominance for the month. Hyundai Veloster sales fell, leaving the Holden Astra Sport to swoop in for third place behind the Toyota 86 in December.

As for the most popular during 2015 overall, the Mazda MX-5 couldn’t catch the Toyota 86 due to it being launched midway through the year. Hyundai sits in second place. Both the 86 and Veloster saw big drops in sales compared with 2014 year-to-date figures, with the Toyota dropping 29.4 per cent and the Veloster falling 21.1 per cent. The top five models in the category during December and 2015 overall were as follows:

1. Mazda MX-5 – 242 (up from 221)
2. Toyota 86 – 197 (down from 209)
3. Holden Astra Sport – 159 (up from 131)
4. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 134 (down from 176)
5. Hyundai Veloster – 101 (down from 149)
   (Subaru WRX – 377 [up from 332] – not officially in this segment)

Top five in 2015 overall:

1. Toyota 86 – 3006 (down from 4257 of 2014)
2. Hyundai Veloster – 2684 (down from 3405)
3. BMW 2 Series – 1902 (up from 1152)
4. Mazda MX-5 – 917 (up from 118)
5. Audi A3 Convertible – 832 (up from 600)
   (Subaru WRX – 3551 [down from 3554] – not officially in this segment)

Up in the Sport Cars over $80,000 category, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class two-door posted the highest sales for December, but it was the BMW 4 Series that posted the highest figure overall for the year. In fact, the 4 Series sits in third place for the year out of all sports car categories. The Lexus RC moved up into third place for the month, in front of the Audi A5 and TT. The top five in this category for December and for 2015 overall were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe/convertible – 167 (up from 87)
2. BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible – 114 (down from 140)
3. Lexus RC – 68 (up from 44)
4. Audi A5 – 47 (up from 33)
5. Audi TT – 43 (down from 85)

Top five in 2015 overall:

1. BMW 4 Series – 1921 (down from 2201 of 2014)
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe – 1409 (down from 1851)
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Cabrio – 957 (down from 1239)
4. Audi A5 – 651 (up from 642)/Audi TT – 651 (up from 125)
5. Lexus RC – 587 (up from 96)

As for the top Sport Cars over $200,000 class, Bentley has surprisingly come through on top for December. It reported an impressive 25 sales, up 127.3 per cent on December 2014 efforts. The Mercedes-AMG GT also recorded decent figures for the month, with 21 units sold. Porsche was pushed all the way down to fifth place for the month.

For the year, it’s the Porsche 911 that remains the king. It’s followed by the BMW 6 Series, and Ferrari vehicles. Out of the top three, Ferrari sales have increased the most compared with 2014 year-to-date figures. Ferrari sales are up 47.8 per cent, while Porsche 911 sales have climbed 3.0 per cent, with the 6 Series dropping 18.7 per cent. The top five in the category for December and 2015 overall were as follows:

1. Bentley coupe/convertible – 25 (up from 18 of November 2015)
2. Mercedes-AMG GT – 21 (up from 8)
3. Ferrari (models not specified) – 16 (up from 7)/Mercedes S-Class Coupe – 16 (up from 5)
4. Porsche 911 – 14 (up from 13)
5. BMW 6 Series – 9 (down from 20)

Top five in 2015 overall:

1. Porsche 911 – 377 (up from 366)
2. BMW 6 Series – 205 (down from 252)
3. Ferrari (models not specified) – 167 (up from 113)
4. Maserati (models not specified) – 115 (up from 99)
5. Aston Martin (models not specified – 114 (up from 97)

In the ever-growing Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute classes, Toyota shines the brightest with the HiLux. Demand for the Ford Ranger is continuing to grow however, almost overtaking the HiLux in the 4×4 category with 2317 sales versus 2328 for December. The Isuzu D-Max saw a decent jump during December, while the Nissan Navara lost popularity by quite a margin. The top ten 4×2 and 4×4 combined figures for December and for 2015 overall look like this:

1. Toyota HiLux – 3133 (down from 3369)
2. Ford Ranger – 2836 (down from 3028)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 2134 (up from 1694)
4. Holden Colorado – 1593 (down from 1639)
5. Isuzu D-Max – 1434 (up from 1288)
6. Mazda BT-50 – 928 (down from 1051)
7. Nissan Navara – 868 (down from 2291)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 728 (up from 651)
9. Foton Tunland – 63 (down from 72)
10. Ssangyong Actyon Sports – 9 (up from 3)

Top 10 in 2015 overall:

1. Toyota HiLux – 35,161 (down from 38,126 of 2014)
2. Ford Ranger – 29,185 (up from 26,619)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 25,338 (up from 24,256)
4. Holden Colorado – 18,520 (up from 18,048)
5. Nissan Navara – 13,897 (down from 16,080)
6. Mazda BT-50 – 13,500 (up from 13,051)
7. Isuzu D-Max – 14,640 (up from 12,049)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 8545 (up from 8285)
9. Foton Funland – 1065 (up from 537)
10. Ssangyong Actyon Sports – 140 (down from 297)

For the very popular SUV categories, the Mitsubishi ASX is back on top of the small class for December, while the Mercedes-Benz GLA becomes the favourite in the premium market.

In the mid-size SUV segments, the Mazda CX-5 regains top spot in the under-$60k class, while the Hyundai Tucson builds enough popularity for second place. For premium car buyers, Mercedes-Benz is once again the choice, with the new GLC reporting impressive figures.

Lastly, the large categories were led by the Toyota Kluger and Prado, with the new Audi Q7 dominating in the luxury class. In all SUV segments the top-sellers for December 2015 were as follows:
(We will publish a separate report for the overall top 10 best-selling SUVs of 2015 soon.)

• SUV Small under $40,000:
  Mitsubishi ASX – 2066 (up from 1123 of November)
  Mazda CX-3 – 1207 (down from 1397)
  Nissan QASHQAI – 866 (up from 859)

• SUV Small above $40,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class – 288 (down from 291)
  Audi Q3 – 265 (down from 298)
  Lexus NX – 172 (down from 249)

• SUV Medium under $60,000:
  Mazda CX-5 – 1917 (down from 2169)
  Hyundai Tucson – 1672 (down from 1838)
  Toyota RAV4 – 1630 (up from 1338)

• SUV Medium above $60,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class – 605 (up from 321)
  Land Rover Discovery Sport – 386 (up from 294)
  Audi Q5 – 263 (down from 319)

• SUV Large under $70,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1368 (up from 1257)
  Toyota Kluger – 1328 (up from 1200)
  Holden Captiva 7 – 784 (down from 842)

• SUV Large above $70,000:
  Audi Q7 – 389 (up from 210)
  Land Rover Discovery – 292 (up from 288)
  Range Rover Sport – 289 (up from 279)

• SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser – 823 (down from 938)
  Nissan Patrol – 110 (down from 138)

• SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GL-Class – 87 (up from 69)
  Range Rover – 32 (up from 25)
  Lexus LX – 15 (down from 37)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in December were up on November figures. During December, Australian consumers bought 99,616 vehicles, compared with 98,639 in November. Sales were also up 2.9 per cent compared with December 2014, and year-to-date figures are up 3.8 per cent.

In terms of what fuel type buyers went for during December, petrol is clearly the most popular. The figures for private buyers in terms of vehicle fuel type were as follows (passenger, SUV, and light commercial combined):

Petrol – 36,856 (down from 37,322 of November)
Diesel – 11,454 (down from 12,254)
Hybrid – 243 (down from 271)
Electric – 23 (up from 22)
LPG – 9 (down from 11)