Australian vehicle sales for January 2023: VFACTS

TOP 10 BEST-SELLING PREMIUM CAR BRANDS IN AUSTRALIA

1. Tesla – 3313 (up from 2266)
2. Mercedes-Benz – 1772 (up from 1586)
3. BMW – 1480 (up from 1268)
4. Audi –1353 (up from 1262)
5. Volvo – 862 (down from 980)
6. Lexus – 502 (down from 546)
7. Porsche – 382 (down from 438)
8. MINI – 269 (up from 112)
9. Land Rover – 180 (down from 181)
10. Polestar – 164 (down from 259)

TOP 10 BEST-SELLING VEHICLES IN AUSTRALIA

So, who is the first out of the gate for the year? It’s not the Toyota HiLux, last year’s overall best-seller. Instead, it was its arch rival the Ford Ranger that set the pace for the first month of the year. It clocked up a decent lead over the HiLux in January, which Toyota will now have to chase. It does have the exciting new HiLux GR Sport coming soon though which could cause a spike.

Further along and it’s the Tesla Model 3 in third place, and then two Mazda SUVs. We’re surprised the CX-5 is still going so strong as Mazda is getting ready to launch some interesting new models, with the CX-60 and CX-90. The Isuzu D-Max has jumped into the top 10 for the first month of the year, setting itself up in a good position, with the Toyota LandCruising finishing off the list.

The top 10 best-selling vehicles in Australia during January 2023 were as follows:

1. Ford Ranger – 4749 (up from 4663 in December 2022)
2. Toyota HiLux – 4131 (down from 4271)
3. Tesla Model 3 – 2927 (up from 1806)
4. Mazda CX-3 – 2417 (up from 2068)
5. Mazda CX-5 – 2189 (up from 1637)
6. Toyota RAV4 – 1958 (down from 2193)
7. Isuzu D-Max – 1843 (up from 1561)
8. MG ZS – 1842 (down from 3056)
9. Mitsubishi Outlander – 1674 (down from 2052)
10. Toyota LandCruiser – 1631 (down from 2482)

SMALL CARS UNDER $40,000

Kicking of the segments, the popular (or once-popular) hatchback field was led by the Hyundai i30, followed by the Toyota Corolla. The Mazda3 come home in third, followed by the Kia Cerato. All models except the Subaru Impreza and Skoda Scala reported a decrease in numbers compared with the same month last year.

Interestingly, this segment is now down to just eight vehicles, with the new Peugeot 308 being bumped up into the premium class listed below. The Honda Civic has also been moved up because of its higher starting price than past generation models, and the Ford Focus and Subaru WRX have been bumped as well.

Segment figures combined hit 4131 units, which is down 30 per cent on January 2022. See below for the top 10 best-selling small cars in Australia during January 2023:

1. Hyundai i30 – 1565 (up from 1152 in December 2022)
2. Toyota Corolla – 1116 (down from 1843)
3. Mazda3 – 824 (down from 1194)
4. Kia Cerato – 308 (down from 338)
5. Subaru Impreza – 284 (up from 249)
6. Skoda Scala – 33 (up from 30)
7. Hyundai Ioniq – 1 (down from 3)
8. Toyota Prius – 0 (equal)

SMALL CARS OVER $40,000

So that means over in this premium segment we’ve added more cars to make up a top 10 list (up from our usual top 5). And on that note, the best-seller has now changed from the usual Mercedes A-Class, to the Volkswagen Golf, in the case of January figures anyway. The second-best seller was the WRX and then we get to the A-Class and Audi A3.

It’s a bit difficult to track the segment now with more models added in, but overall the class reported 1357 sales, which is up 103.4 per cent (again, mostly due to more vehicles). The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during January 2023 were as follows:

1. Volkswagen Golf – 267 (down from 358)
2. Subaru WRX – 247 (down from 369)
3. Mercedes-Benz A-Class – 225 (up from 161)
4. Audi A3 – 224 (up from 204)
5. BMW 1 Series – 140 (up from 25)
6. BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe – 71 (up from 41)
7. Honda Civic – 66 (down from 78)
8. Nissan LEAF – 39 (up from 7)
9. Cupra Leon – 27 (down from 35)
10. Ford Focus – 21 (up from 8)

MEDIUM CARS UNDER $60,000

In the humble sedan market the Toyota Camry is off to an expected good start, but the Mazda6 isn’t far away. The Skoda Octavia is also tracking well.

Total segment sales topped 773 units, which is down a saddening 50.4 per cent on the same month last year. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during January 2023 were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 372 (up from 333)
2. Mazda6 – 199 (down from 213)
3. Skoda Octavia – 122 (up from 80)
4. Volkswagen Passat – 57 (down from 76)
5. Hyundai Sonata – 19 (down from 32)

MEDIUM CARS OVER $60,000

Luxury mid-sizers were dominated by the Tesla Model 3, with almost 3000 sales in January. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class recorded decent sales though, enough for second place, with the Polestar 2 coming home in third spot.

Overall class registrations hit 4169 units during the first month of the year, which is up 433.1 per cent on the same month last year. This was no doubt due to the Tesla, which wasn’t on the list last year, as with the Polestar 2. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during January 2023 were as follows:

1. Tesla Model 3 – 2927 (up from 1806 in December 2022)
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 408 (up from 315)
3. Polestar 2 – 164 (down from 259)
4. BMW 3 Series – 161 (down from 193)
5. Lexus ES – 130 (up from 48)

LARGE CARS UNDER $70,000

Even though it is clinging on for dear life, this segment seems to be processing increasing numbers compared with last year, but the individual numbers are still quite low.

A total of 208 units were registered, up 65.1 per cent, with the Kia Stinger reporting the most with 172 units (up 123.4 per cent).

The only vehicles listed in this class in VFACTS for January 2023 reported the following figures:

1. Kia Stinger – 172 (up from 81 in December 2022)
2. Skoda Superb – 33 (up from 30)
3. Citroen C5 X – 3 (down from 12)

LARGE CARS OVER $70,000

Moving up, the new Audi e-tron GT recorded the highest figure for the month. It recently launched in Australia and we suspect a lot of these numbers were the initial demos and press models and so on. Although, it will be an interesting one to watch.

Segment performance hit 106 units, which is down 2.8 per cent for the month on last year. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment during January 2023 were as follows:

1. Audi e-tron GT – 33 (up from 13)
2. BMW 5 Series – 26 (up from 17)
3. Mercedes-Benz EQE – 14 (new model)
4. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 12 (down from 20)
5. Porsche Taycan – 8 (equal)

SPORTS CARS UNDER $80,000

Into the exciting stuff and it’s the Subaru BRZ that’s setting the pace. It managed to topple the ever-popular Ford Mustang. The Mazda MX-5 also managed to sneak into second spot, leaving the ‘Stang with third spot.

This class recorded 430 new registrations during the month. That’s up quite an impressive 36.1 per cent. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment during January 2023 were as follows:

1. Subaru BRZ – 116 (down from 121 in December 2022)
2. Mazda MX-5 – 86 (up from 29)
3. Ford Mustang – 75 (down from 88)
4. BMW 2 Series – 47 (up from 42)
5. Nissan Z – 45 (equal)

SPORT CARS OVER $80,000

More serious buyers in the sports car market gravitated towards the BMW 4 Series more than any other vehicle. It set a decent pace in January, leaving the runner-up Mercedes C-Class two-door over 20 sales away.

The Porsche 718 Cayman came home in third spot, with 24 sales up a remarkable 300 per cent on the 6 units sold during the same month last year.

Class figures reached 209 units, down 16.7 per cent for the month of January. The top five best-selling models in this segment during January 2023 were as follows:

1. BMW 4 Series – 63 (up from 33)
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 41 (up from 33)
3. Chevrolet Corvette – 16 (down from 19)
4. Porsche 718 Cayman – 24 (up from 16)
5. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 12 (up from 6)

SPORT CARS OVER $200,000

Up at the top in the elite sports car class, the Porsche 911 continues on as the model with the highest demand. Sales for the German icon are up 26.3 per cent. Ferrari sales are also off to a strong start, with 17 units, but that’s down 15 per cent on last year.

The overall segment reported 64 sales for the month, which is up 12.3 per cent on last January. See below for the top five best-selling vehicles in this class during January 2023:

1. Porsche 911 – 24 (down from 34)
2. Ferrari Coupe/Convertible – 17 (equal)
3. McLaren Coupe/Convertible – 10 (up from 5)
4. Lamborghini Coupe/Convertible – 6 (up from 5)
5. BMW 8 Series – 5 (down from 7)

COMBINED 4×2 AND 4×4 UTES

The booming ute segment continues, but it wasn’t the HiLux in front this time. Combined 4×2 and 4×4 models were led by the Ford Ranger, followed by the HiLux. Interestingly, all models remained in the same ranking as the previous month.

The best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined – excludes LandCruiser, LDV T60, RAM 1500 etc.) for January 2023 were as follows:

1. Ford Ranger – 4749 (up from 4663 in December 2022)
2. Toyota HiLux – 4131 (down from 4271)
3. Isuzu D-Max – 1843 (up from 1561)
4. Mazda BT-50 – 1320 (up from 1235)
5. Mitsubishi Triton – 1253 (up from 1054)
6. Great Wall Motors Ute – 726 (down from 806)
7. Nissan Navara – 429 (down from 528)

Over in the 4×4-exclusive ute class, which VFACTS now excludes the big American trucks from (these are now classed as ‘Pick-up above $100k’, listed further below), it’s the mighty LandCruiser 70 Series that continues its dominance.

It will be interesting to see how the new VW Amarok goes when it arrives very soon, based on the latest Ford Ranger. And if the Ranger is anything to go by, it should be a popular one.

See below for the top five best-selling vehicles in this segment during January 2023:

1. Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series – 635 (down from 938)
2. LDV T60 – 587 (down from 596)
3. SsangYong Musso – 308 (down from 324)
4. Volkswagen Amarok – 291 (down from 566)
5. Jeep Gladiator – 46 (down from 86)

BEST-SELLING SUVS IN ALL SEGMENTS

Lastly, we come to the vehicle type that everyone seems to want, the SUVs. The most popular SUV outright for the month was the Mazda CX-3. It beat out the popular contenders like the RAV4 and MG ZS.

The most popular premium SUV was the Volvo XC40, followed closely by the Audi Q3. In fact, these two were separated by just 5 units. See below for the top five best-selling SUVs in all segments during January 2023:

SUV Light (no price range):

• Mazda CX-3 – 2417 (up from 2068 in December 2022)
• Hyundai Venue – 672 (up from 81)
• Suzuki Jimny – 593 (up from 417)
• Toyota Yaris Cross – 513 (down from 746)
• Volkswagen T-Cross – 488 (up from 249)

SUV Small under $40,000:

• MG ZS – 1842 (down from 3056)
• Mitsubishi ASX – 1096 (up from 777)
• Haval Jolion – 875 (down from 1184)
• Subaru XV – 792 (down from 944)
• Mazda CX-30 – 661 (down from 916)

SUV Small above $40,000:

• Volvo XC40 – 408 (down from 556)
• Audi Q3 – 403 (down from 476)
• Kia Niro – 165 (down from 233)
• Volvo C40 – 127 (down from 209)
• Lexus UX – 97 (up from 70)

SUV Medium under $60,000:

• Mazda CX-5 – 2189 (up from 1637)
• Toyota RAV4 – 1958 (down from 2193)
• Mitsubishi Outlander – 1674 (down from 2052)
• Hyundai Tucson – 1615 (down from 1643)
• Kia Sportage – 1572 (up from 1451)

SUV Medium above $60,000:

• Tesla Model Y – 386 (down from 460)
• BMW X3 – 384 (up from 176)
• Audi Q5 – 301 (up from 254)
• Volvo XC60 – 212 (up from 170)
• Mercedes-Benz GLC wagon – 211 (down from 233)

SUV Large under $70,000:

• Ford Everest – 1230 (up from 926)
• Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1182 (up from 970)
• Kia Sorento – 1043 (down from 1252)
• Isuzu MU-X – 828 (down from 944)
• Subaru Outback – 792 (down from 802)

SUV Large above $70,000:

• Mercedes-Benz GLE – 253 (down from 288)
• BMW X5 – 206 (up from 166)
• Audi Q7 – 153 (up from 151)
• Volvo XC90 – 99 (up from 37)
• BMW iX – 95 (up from 36)

SUV Upper Large under $100,000:

• Toyota LandCruiser – 996 (down from 1544)
• Nissan Patrol – 253 (down from 727)
• Land Rover Discovery – 1 (equal)

SUV Upper Large above $100,000:

• Lexus LX – 82 (up from 26)
• BMW X7 – 57 (down from 85)
• Range Rover – 29 (up from 20)
• Mercedes-Benz GLS – 28 (down from 37)
• Lamborghini Urus – 4 (up from 1)