Australian vehicle sales for June 2016 – Porsche Boxster gains popularity

The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has released the national VFACTS new vehicle registration figures for June 2016, with the Hyundai i30 once again topping the overall stats only this time reporting unbelievably high figures.

For the top 10 best-selling vehicle brands, it’s Toyota that remains at the top despite Hyundai’s extraordinary efforts with the i30. All brands recorded high numbers in June, as expected, leading into the end of the financial year. Honda managed to boot Subaru out of the top 10 during the month, while Mitsubishi pushed Ford down into sixth spot. The top 10 most popular brands for June 2016 were as follows:

1. Toyota – 22,083 (up from 17,201 of  May 2016 sales)
2. Mazda – 12,455 (up from 9608)
3. Hyundai – 12,300 (up from 9005)
4. Holden – 11,376 (up from 7405)
5. Mitsubishi – 8726 (up from 6154)
6. Ford – 8316 (up from 6584)
7. Nissan – 6781 (up from 5585)
8. Volkswagen – 5933 (up from 4565)
9. Honda – 5265 (up from 4002)
10. Kia – 5170 (up from 3542)

In terms of the best-selling vehicle models, specifically, the Hyundai i30 has reported strangely high figures. It easily topped all other models, including the Corolla and Mazda3 duo, and the popular HiLux and Ford Range utes, 4×2 and 4×4 combined. Keen stats followers will notice there are now four utes sitting in the top 10. The top 10 best-selling vehicles for June 2016 were as follows:

1. Hyundai i30 – 6432 (up from 3771)
2. Toyota HiLux – 4613 (up from 3675)
3. Toyota Corolla – 4427 (up from 3333)
4. Mazda3 – 4112 (up from 3243)
5. Ford Ranger – 4078 (up from 3115)
6. Holden Commodore – 3054 (up from 2255)
7. Toyota Camry – 3049 (up from 1446)
8. Mitsubishi Triton – 2858 (up from 2021)
9. Mazda CX-5 – 2643 (up from 2117)
10. Holden Colorado – 2397 (up from 1414)

Medium Cars under $60,000 – The Toyota Camry is once again the most popular in this segment, with companies and fleet buyers likely getting orders in before the end of the financial year; figures for the Camry doubled compared with the previous month. All of the contenders remained in their positions and recorded pretty similar figures as the previous month. We notice Subaru has jumped onto the board with its new WRX-based Levorg wagon. The top five best-selling models in this class were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 3049 (up from 1446)
2. Mazda6 – 464 (up from 384)
3. Subaru Liberty – 444 (up from 279)
4. Volkswagen Passat – 257 (up from 256)
5. Subaru Levorg – 249 (new release)

Medium Cars over $60,000 – Up in the executive and more demanding premium mid-size sedans, the BMW 3 Series has edged closer to the class-favourite Mercedes C-Class. This, again, could be down to business people getting in before the end of the financial year. All models remained in the same standings as the previous month. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 649 (up from 547)
2. BMW 3 Series – 615 (up from 379)
3. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 390 (up from 317)
4. Audi A4 – 238 (up from 235)
5. Lexus IS – 216 (up from 162)

Large Cars under $70,000 – Ford Falcon sales continue to dwindle in the wake of its upcoming demise, however, Holden Commodore sales are still going relatively strong. So strong, in fact, it stood right up there in the ranks of the overall top 10 best-sellers of the month. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:

1. Holden Commodore – 3054 (up from 2255)
2. Ford Falcon – 475 (down from 521)
3. Toyota Aurion – 459 (up from 305)
4. Skoda Superb – 53 (down from 58)
5. Hyundai Genesis – 15 (down from 21)

Large Cars over $70,000 – Stepping up to the premium portion of the above class, the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series are neck and neck, while the Jaguar XF managed to kick out the Audi A6 from the top five best-sellers list. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment in June 2016 were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 65 (up from 62 of May)
2. BMW 5 Series – 59 (equal)
3. Mercedes-Benz CLS – 49 (up from 27)
4. Maserati Ghibli – 42 (up from 37)
5. Jaguar XF – 38 (up from 30)

Sports Car under $80,000 – Ford Mustang sales are still going strong, although demand is said to be far exceeding local allocation. BMW made a decent move in the segment in June, shifting into second place with the 2 Series, seemingly proving Aussie customers are becoming more accustomed to premium marques. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:

1. Ford Mustang – 382 (up from 309)
2. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 240 (up from 192)
3. Toyota 86 – 190 (up from 185)
4. Hyundai Veloster – 109 (down from 198)/Mazda MX-5 – 109 (down from 118)
5. Holden Astra Sport – 87 (down from 113)
   (Subaru WRX – 289 [up from 35] – not officially in this segment)

Sport Cars over $80,000 – New Mercedes C-Class Coupe sales are continuing to make a big dent here, far exceeding the rivals. Meanwhile, the Porsche 718 Boxster made good ground, slotting into fifth place for the segment and increasing its sales five fold from the previous month. The top five best-selling vehicles in this category were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 254 (up from 208)
2. BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible – 169 (up from 160)
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 128 (up from 58)
4. Lexus RC – 51 (down from 52)
5. Porsche Boxster – 47 (up from 8)

Sport Cars over $200,000 – The Boxster’s big brother owns the proper sports and supercar class, with the 911 going out to 38 buyers in June. However, the 911 was one of the only vehicle models in June that actually saw a drop in sales compared with May. Ferrari reported decent figures, good enough for second place, while Lamborghini numbers aren’t too far behind although dipping from the previous month. The top five best-selling vehicles in the class during June 2016 were as follows:

1. Porsche 911 – 38 (down from 41 of May)
2. Ferrari (not specified) – 17 (up from 14)
3. BMW 6 Series – 15 (up from 14)
4. Lamborghini (not specified) – 11 (down from 21)/Mercedes-AMG GT – 11 (down from 12)
5. Aston Martin (not specified) – 10 (up from 8)

Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute – No longer are utes a tradie’s best friend. It seems more and more regular buyers are turning to them for their practicality benefits and SUV-like personality. All models saw a decent rise in sales during June, except the Navara, likely helped by the end of the financial year. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined) for June 2016 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 4613 (up from 3675 of May)
2. Ford Ranger – 4078 (up from 3115)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 2858 (up from 2021)
4. Holden Colorado – 2397 (up from 1414)
5. Mazda BT-50 – 1917 (up from 1204)
6. Nissan Navara – 1697 (down from 1752)
7. Isuzu D-Max – 1652 (up from 1351)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 1082 (up from 810)
9. Foton Tunland – 98 (up from 68)
10. Ssangyong Actyon Sports – 2 (equal)

Over in the increasingly popular SUV classes, we noticed some changes in the favourites. Mitsubishi’s ASX claimed top spot in its class, while Audi topped the small and medium premium classes with the Q3 and Q5. BMW posted impressive figures for its X5 in the large premium class, and Holden managed to claim top spot in the Toyota-dominated seven-seat class.

The most popular category remains the ‘SUV Medium under $60,000’ class, with 14,024 sales in total. The figure is up 8.0 per cent on the same month last year when 12,983 units were sold.

Right behind is the ‘SUV Large below $70,000’ class. Sales are up 1.0 per cent from the same month in 2015, jumping from 12,345 to 12,472 units in June this year.

Completing the three favourite SUV classes is the ‘SUV Small below $40,000’. Sales topped 11,790 during June, up 15.3 per cent compared with the same month last year (10,226).

The top three best-selling SUVs in all categories for June 2016 were as follows:

• SUV Small under $40,000:
  Mitsubishi ASX – 2182 (up from 1244 of May)
  Mazda CX-3 – 1790 (up from 1451)
  Honda HR-V – 1696 (up from 1149)

• SUV Small above $40,000:
  Audi Q3 – 431 (up from 253)
  BMW X1 – 406 (up from 372)
  Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class – 358 (up from 268)

• SUV Medium under $60,000:
  Mazda CX-5 – 2643 (up from 2117)
  Toyota RAV4 – 2088 (up from 1695)
  Nissan X-Trail – 1908 (up from 1537)

• SUV Medium above $60,000:
  Audi Q5 – 429 (up from 387)
  Land Rover Discovery Sport – 424 (up from 293)
  BMW X3 – 396 (up from 299)

• SUV Large under $70,000:
  Holden Captiva – 1741 (up from 898)
  Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1357 (up from 1174)
  Toyota Kluger – 1315 (up from 1072)

• SUV Large above $70,000:
  BMW X5 – 559 (up from 419)
  Audi Q7 – 314 (up from 302)
  Land Rover Discovery – 311 (up from 281)

• SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser – 842 (down from 982)
  Nissan Patrol – 184 (up from 151)

• SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class/GL – 136 (up from 124)
  Range Rover – 47 (up from 46)
  Lexus LX – 18 (up from 15)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in June were up on May figures. During June, Australian consumers bought a whopping 128,569 vehicles, compared with 96,672 in May. Sales are up 2.2 per cent compared with June 2015, with year-to-date figures up 3.4 per cent.