Australian vehicle sales for June 2020 (VFACTS)

Well it looks like the automotive industry is on its way to recovery following the initial coronavirus outbreak. New vehicle registration figures (VFACTS) for June 2020 have just been handed out, revealing some promising numbers.

According to the figures, 110,234 new vehicles were registered during June this year. That’s well up on 59,894 sales reported in May, and a lot more than the 38,926 units that were reported in April. Whatever way you look at it, the industry seems to be on its way to recovery, no doubt helped by the end of the financial year. June figures are down 6.4 per cent on the same month last year though, but this is pretty much in line with how the market was tracking before COVID-19 came along.

As usual, Toyota topped the charts for car brands, selling 22,867 vehicles in June. That’s down 6.7 per cent across year-to-date (YTD), understandably, but up an impressive 7.9 per cent compared with June 2019. Mazda remained the runner-up, equalling its position in May. Its YTD figure is down 29.8 per cent while its June performance is down 12.8 per cent. Rounding out the third most popular brand for the month was Hyundai. Its YTD figure is down 31.5 per cent, and down 22.6 per cent for June.

See below for the top 10 best-selling car brands of June 2o20. The figures in brackets are from the previous month and not YTD so we can see how models are tracking throughout the year.

1. Toyota – 22,867 (up from 14,466 of May 2020 sales)
2. Mazda – 9420 (up from 5661)
3. Hyundai – 7737 (up from 4109)
4. Ford – 7624 (up from 3894)
5. Mitsubishi – 7419 (up from 3010)
6. Volkswagen – 5737 (up from 2781)
7. Kia – 5727 (up from 2760)
8. Mercedes-Benz – 4437 (up from 1777)
9. Nissan – 4260 (up from 2216)
10. Subaru – 3775 (up from 2023)

Toyota is also at the top in terms of the best-selling vehicle model. During June the company sold an impressive 6537 examples of the HiLux (4×2 and 4×4 combined). Following behind was the Ford Ranger, with the Toyota Corolla rounding out the top three. Only the Corolla and i30 make the top 10 cut for passenger cars, while the rest are made up of utes and SUVs. The top 10 best-selling vehicles in Australia during June 2020 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 6537 (up from 3527 in May 2020)
2. Ford Ranger – 5329 (up from 2663)
3. Toyota Corolla – 3008 (up from 1626)
4. Mitsubishi Triton – 2721 (up from 866)
5. Toyota RAV4 – 2632 (up from 2345)
6. Mazda CX-5 – 2530 (up from 1479)
7. Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 2374 (up from 1358)
8. Hyundai i30 – 2368 (up from 1191)
9. Hyundai Tucson – 2206 (up from 1019)

Small Cars under $40,000 – Kia has moved up one position from May, with its Cerato being the third most popular model in this class during June. However, it’s the Toyota Corolla that obviously takes the spotlight here. Overall sales in this segment are down 31.9 per cent YTD, and down 26.8 per cent compared with the month of June last year. See below for the top 10 best-selling small cars in Australia during June 2020:

1. Toyota Corolla – 3008 (up from 1626 in May 2020)
2. Hyundai i30 – 2368 (up from 1191)
3. Kia Cerato – 2016 (down from 842)
4. Mazda3 – 1722 (up from 1052)
5. Volkswagen Golf – 1407 (up from 742)
6. Honda Civic – 778 (up from 503)
7. Subaru Impreza – 353 (up from 242)
8. Ford Focus – 248 (up from 167)
9. Hyundai Elantra –  220 (up from 122)
10. Holden Astra – 112 (down from 140)

1. Mercedes-Benz A-Class – 901 (up from 352)
2. BMW 1 Series – 397 (up from 194)
3. Audi A3 – 358 (up from 168)
4. BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe – 256 (up from 159)
5. Mercedes-Benz B-Class – 98 (up from 31)

Medium Cars under $60,000 – Toyota Camry sales are still going strong in its class, while all others around it continue to struggle. Even so, Camry sales are down 17.9 per cent YTD and down 9.6 per cent for the month. Overall class sales are down 25.9 per cent and 20.6 per cent, respectively. The top 10 best-selling vehicles in this class during June 2020 were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 1123 (up from 911 in May)
2. Mazda6 – 177 (up from 125)
3. Skoda Octavia – 152 (up from 94)
4. Subaru Liberty – 139 (up from 54)
5. Volkswagen Passat – 76 (up from 58)

Medium Cars over $60,000 – In the premium sector, it looks like the BMW 3 Series is winning the main battle with its arch rival, Mercedes C-Class. YTD figures are at 1873 units (up 35.8 per cent) for the Bavarian, and 1467 (down 59.2 per cent) for the Stuttgart-born C-Class. Segment sales so far this year are down 28.3 per cent, while the month tally is up 14.9 per cent. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during June were as follows:

1. BMW 3 Series – 561 (up from 268)
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 492 (up from 139)
3. Mercedes-Benz CLA – 315 (up from 174)
4. Audi A4 – 133 (up from 68)
5. Lexus IS – 98 (up from 32)

Large Cars under $70,000 – Moving over to the large cars. The Kia Stinger is bouncing back, with its June figure up a decent 23.5 per cent. However, overall segment sales are down 67.4 per cent YTD, which is well below the industry trend. Combined figures for the month of June compared with June last year are also down a concerning 64 per cent, perhaps providing yet more evidence of buyers moving into SUVs and utes. The only vehicles on sale in this segment in June shaped up like this:

1. Kia Stinger – 247 (up from 93 in May)
2. Holden Commodore – 43 (up from 40)
3. Skoda Superb – 25 (up from 15)

Large Cars over $70,000 – In the premium version of above, the stats aren’t as grim. Overall segment sales are down 39.5 per cent YTD, but for the month the sales are up 17.9 per cent. This is mainly led by the BMW 5 Series (up 35.4 per cent for June) and Mercedes E-Class (up 1.6 per cent for June). The new Audi A6 also contributes, with its figure up over 1000 per cent, reporting 27 sales in June compared with just 2 sales last June. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during June 2020 were as follows:

1. BMW 5 Series – 130 (up from 57)
2. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 127 (up from 29)
3. Audi A6 – 27 (up from 11)
4. Audi A7 – 14 (up from 7)
5. Maserati Ghibli – 10 (up from 3)
6. Genesis G80 – 8 (up from 4)

Sports Car under $80,000 – Driver’s cars are also showing signs of recovery following coronavirus. In the entry class the Ford Mustang is on its way up, reporting a 13.6 per cent increase on its monthly figure compared with last June. It remains as the country’s best-selling sports car overall, with 1603 sales so far this year. Segment sales are down 25.4 per cent YTD, but have increased 6.1 per cent compared with June last year. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment during June were as follows:

1. Ford Mustang – 419 (up from 257 in May 2020)
2. Hyundai Veloster – 66 (up from 38)
3. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 53 (up from 38)
4. Toyota 86 – 33 (down from 40) / Subaru BRZ – 33 (up from 29)
5. Audi A3 Convertible – 31 (up from 14)

Sport Cars over $80,000 – Moving up a notch and we see the Mercedes C-Class two-door continues to lead the pack. The BMW Z4 is holding on strong though in third, however, its twin-under-the-skin, the Toyota Supra, only managed 20 sales. Overall class figures are down 36.6 per cent for the first six months of the year, and up 7.8 per cent for the month. The top five best-selling models in this segment during June 2020 were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 196 (up from 75)
2. BMW 4 Series – 74 (up from 18)
3. BMW Z4 – 62 (up from 39)
4. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 41 (up from 11)
5. Lexus RC – 26 (up from 17)

Sport Cars over $200,000 – In the upper end of the market, the Porsche 911 remains the boss of driver’s cars. However, Bentley posted decent numbers considering it is an exclusive and obviously very expensive showroom. BMW 8 Series sales remain solid. Segment sales are down 31.8 per cent YTD and down 38.8 per cent for the month. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during June 2020 were as follows:

1. Porsche 911 – 34 (up from 30)
2. BMW 8 Series – 16 (up from 9)
3. Bentley Coupe/Convertible (not specified) – 11 (up from 5)
4. Ferrari Coupe/Convertible (not specified) – 10 (down from 20)
5. Lamborghini Coupe/Convertible (not specified) – 7 (up from 4)

Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute – In the increasingly-popular ute class, the Toyota HiLux obviously stands at the top. But further down the list the Triton has moved into third place (from fourth in May), and the Mazda BT-50 moves from sixth to fourth. Nissan Navara sales also pushed it up from ninth in May to sixth in June. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined – excludes LandCruiser, LDV T60, RAM 1500) for June were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux –  6537 (up from 3527 in May 2020)
2. Ford Ranger – 5329 (up from 2663)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 2721 (up from 866)
4. Mazda BT-50 – 1768 (up from 833)
5. Isuzu D-Max – 1642 (up from 1010)
6. Nissan Navara – 1465 (up from 726)
7. Volkswagen Amarok – 1229 (up from 512)
8. Holden Colorado – 862 (up from 855)
9. Mercedes-Benz X-Class – 372 (up from 160)
10. Great Wall Steed – 243 (up from 120)

In our newly-created class that comprises of utes that are only available with 4×4, the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series remains in front. LDV’s T60 moves up to second spot from third in May, while the Ram 1500 continues to see respectable figures. The top five best-selling 4×4-exclusive utes in June were as follows:

1. Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series – 1388 (up from 872 in May 2020)
2. LDV T60 – 618 (up from 287)
3. RAM 1500 Express and Laramie – 602 (up from 330)
4. SsangYong Musso – 140 (up from 42)
5. Jeep Gladiator – 90 (up from 71)

SUV classes are starting to return to normal as well. The ‘Medium below $60k’ class remains the most popular, reporting 16,444 sales in June (down 18.4 per cent on last June, down 19.5 per cent YTD). Second most popular is the the ‘Large below $70k’ class, with 11,428 sales (up 5.2 per cent for June, down 20.9 per cent YTD). And then rounding out the top three is the ‘Small below $40k’ segment. It saw 10,235 sales (down 6.6 per cent for the month and down 9.0 per cent YTD).

The Toyota RAV4 was the best-selling SUV overall for the month, and it remains in front over the first six months of the year. It has 15,544 sales in the bag, which is now well ahead of the Mazda CX-5’s 10,219 YTD figure – the CX-5 has been the most popular SUV for several years running. The Mercedes GLC was the most popular premium SUV in June. The top three best-selling SUVs in all segments during June 2020 were as follows:

• SUV Light (new segment for 2020, no price range):
  Mazda CX-3 – 1157 (up from 883 in May)
  Hyundai Venue – 344 (up from 246)
  Volkswagen T-Cross – 339 (up from 198)
• SUV Small under $40,000:
  Mitsubishi ASX – 1475 (up from 725)
  Hyundai Kona – 1385 (up from 737)
  Toyota C-HR – 1199 (up from 789)
• SUV Small above $40,000:
  Volvo XC40 – 490 (up from 209)
  Audi Q3 – 479 (up from 329)
  BMW X1 – 392 (up from 199)
• SUV Medium under $60,000:
  Toyota RAV4 – 2632 (up from 2345)
  Mazda CX-5 – 2530 (up from 1479)
  Hyundai Tucson – 2206 (up from 1019)
• SUV Medium above $60,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLC – 834 (up from 348)
  Lexus NX – 698 (up from 246)
  Audi Q5 – 431 (up from 220)
• SUV Large under $70,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 2374 (up from 1358)
  Toyota Kluger – 1243 (up from 541)
  Isuzu MU-X – 1014 (up from 429)
• SUV Large above $70,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLE – 449 (up from 195)
  BMW X5 – 370 (up from 254)
  Lexus RX – 337 (up from 142)
• SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser – 1521 (up from 1260)
  Nissan Patrol – 211 (down from 219)
• SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
  Land Rover Discovery – 164 (up from 46)
  Mercedes-Benz GLS – 153 (up from 77)
  BMW X7 – 143 (up from 75)