Australian vehicle sales for May 2017 – Mustang goes nuts

It’s that time of the month again, with the official Australian VFACTS sales figures for new vehicle registrations for May showing some familiar trends, and some interesting changes.

Starting with the top-selling vehicle brands, Toyota once again blows them all out of the water. The Japanese giant sold 19,876 vehicles in Australia in May, up 15.6 per cent on May 2016 figures and up 5.3 per cent year-to-date. Runner-up Mazda couldn’t improve on its 2016 result quite as well, with 9903 sales only up 3.1 per cent and 1.0 per cent, respectively. The top 10 most popular car brands for May 2017 were as follows:

1. Toyota – 19,876 (up from 16,090 of April 2017 sales)
2. Mazda – 9903 (up from 8630)
3. Hyundai – 8312 (up from 6850)
4. Ford – 7617 (up from 5802)
5. Holden – 6917 (up from 5804)
6. Mitsubishi – 6521 (up from 5470)
7. Nissan – 5083 (up from 3350)
8. Volkswagen – 5080 (up from 3867)
9. Kia – 5005 (up from 4120)
10. Subaru – 4146 (up from 3854)

In terms of the best-selling vehicle models, the Toyota HiLux (4×2 and 4×4 combined) takes home the crown again. A bunch of SUVs and other utes make up the overall top 10, proving the popularity and demand of adventure-style vehicles. In fact, just four ‘cars’ make up the top 10. The top 10 best-selling vehicles for May 2017 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 4154 (up from 3430)
2. Ford Ranger – 4069 (up from 3120)
3. Toyota Corolla – 3160 (up from 2555)
4. Hyundai i30 – 2683 (up from 1979)
5. Mazda3 – 2594 (up from 2313)
6. Mazda CX-5 – 2298 (up from 2166)
7. Toyota Camry – 2233 (up from 1885)
8. Hyundai Tucson – 2135 (up from 1530)
9. Nissan X-Trail – 1992 (up from 730)
10. Toyota RAV4 – 1977 (up from 1389)

Small Cars under $40,000 – The Toyota Corolla continues to be the favourite in the default small car class, however, the new Hyundai i30 is off to a great start. Hyundai Australia only launched the new model in May, potentially giving us all a sign of a prosperous future. The top 10 best-selling small cars in May were as follows:

1. Toyota Corolla – 3160 (up from 2555 of April)
2. Hyundai i30 – 2683 (up from 1979)
3. Mazda3 – 2594 (up from 2313)
4. Kia Cerato – 1735 (up from 1490)
5. Volkswagen Golf – 1534 (up from 1151)
6. Honda Civic – 1311 (up from 985)
7. Subaru Impreza – 1112 (up from 1022)
8. Holden Astra – 828 (up from 792)
9. Mitsubishi Lancer – 674 (up from 339)
10. Ford Focus – 469 (down from 504)

Medium Cars under $60,000 – Up one class we see the Camry is still the king here. It really is unstoppable, it seems. Compared with last year, Camry sales are up 54.4 per cent on May 2016, and up 24.1 per cent year-to-date. No other car in the class was able to match this year-to-date increase. The top five best-selling models in this class for May were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 2233 (up from 1885 of April)
2. Mazda6 – 275 (down from 292)
3. Ford Mondeo – 236 (down from 300)
4. Volkswagen Passat – 198 (down from 245)
5. Subaru Liberty – 183 (up from 162)

Medium Cars over $60,000 – Over in the premium segment, the Mercedes C-Class continues to dominate. It’s followed up by the CLA, reiterating the brand’s best-selling luxury marque status in Australia. The BMW 3 Series isn’t too far behind, rounding out the top three. The C-Class is the only model in the top 10 to post a positive year-to-date figure, up 31.5 per cent. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for May were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 652 (up from 651)
2. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 263 (down from 285)
3. BMW 3 Series – 256 (up from 141)
4. Audi A4 – 173 (down from 239)
5. Lexus IS – 138 (down from 141)

Large Cars under $70,000 – In this diminishing class, the Ford Falcon is almost off the chart completely with 12 sales. On the contrary, the Holden Commodore posted a positive sales increase on April figures, although year-to-date figures are down 13.7 per cent. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for May 2017 were as follows:

1. Holden Commodore – 1841 (up from 1441)
2. Toyota Aurion – 334 (up from 312)
3. Skoda Superb – 102 (up from 77)
4. Ford Falcon – 12 (up from 7)
5. Peugeot 508 – 9 (equal)

Large Cars over $70,000 – Stepping into the premium version of the class above, we see the Mercedes E-Class sets a similar trend to its smaller brother. The BMW 5 Series loses its top spot from the previous month, with the Maserati Ghibli moving up to third. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment in May were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 185 (up from 144)
2. BMW 5 Series – 88 (down from 257)
3. Maserati Ghibli – 27 (up from 12)
4. Jaguar XF – 20 (up from 13)
5. Audi A6 – 14 (down from 31)

Sports Car under $80,000 – The Ford Mustang bursted out sales in May, more than doubling its April effort and almost reaching into the top 10 overall vehicle model sales. This certainly stirred up the segment, with the Mazda MX-5 posting the second-best figure. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for April were as follows:

1. Ford Mustang – 1351 (up from 639 of April)
2. Mazda MX-5 – 169 (up from 124)
3. Hyundai Veloster – 154 (down from 180)
4. Toyota 86 – 151 (up from 145)
5. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 140 (down from 211)
   (Subaru WRX – 185 [up from 165] – not officially in this segment, shown for comparison)

Sport Cars over $80,000 – Again, it’s a Mercedes-Benz that’s leading the charge. The two-door C-Class is proving very popular, easily outgunning the Bavarian arch rival BMW 4 Series. Two-door E-Class sales are not far behind, leaving Audi’s offering in a typical bronze-trophy position for the premium brands. The top five best-selling models in this category were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 243 (up from 219)
2. BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible – 116 (up from 54)
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 90 (down from 23)
4. Audi A5 – 60 (up from 52)
5. Mercedes-Benz SLC – 25 (down from 29)

Sport Cars over $200,000 – Supercar sales seem to be kicking along quite well, with the segment up 2.6 per cent year-to-date. The Porsche 911 leads the way, but Ferrari models aren’t far behind, followed by McLaren. Aston Martin is also up there. Interestingly, McLaren sales are up a whopping 142.9 per cent year-to-date, providing more evidence of the brand’s plans to expand its showroom and production. The top five best-selling vehicles in the class during May were as follows:

1. Porsche 911 – 35 (up from 32)
2. Ferrari (not specified) – 21 (up from 6)
3. McLaren (not specified) – 14 (up from 10)
4. Aston Martin – 12/Mercedes S-Class – 12
5. BMW 6 Series – 8/Maserati Coupe (not specified) – 8

Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute – Over in the increasingly popular ute segment, the HiLux takes the cake obviously, followed by the Ford Ranger. Ranger sales are edging ever so much closer to the popular Toyota. Both models more than doubled the sales of their nearest competitor though, the Holden Colorado. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined) for May were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 4154 (up from 3430 of April)
2. Ford Ranger – 4069 (up from 3120)
3. Holden Colorado – 1924 (up from 1824)
4. Isuzu D-Max – 1752 (up from 1246)
5. Mitsubishi Triton – 1747 (up from 1384)
6. Nissan Navara – 1498 (up from 1379)
7. Mazda BT-50 – 1142 (up from 1031)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 754 (up from 543)
9. Foton Tunland – 153 (up from 37)
10. Great Wall Steed – 44 (up from 38)

Over in the similarly popular SUV classes, the Mazda CX-5 was the most popular overall. Unsurprisingly, this month, we see Mercedes-Benz is the brand of the most popular premium SUV, with the GLC.

The ‘Medium under $60,000’ segment is the most popular, with 14,831 sales, up 15.6 per cent year-to-date. The second most popular class continues to be the ‘Large under $70,000′ category, with 10,270 sales, up 2.0 per cent year-to-date. The third most popular class is the ‘Small under $40,000’ category, with 7737 sales, down 6.3 per cent year-to-date.

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

• SUV Small under $40,000:
  Mitsubishi ASX – 1742 (up from 1451 of April)
  Mazda CX-3 – 1542 (up from 1195)
  Honda HR-V – 1029 (up from 815)

• SUV Small above $40,000:
  Audi Q3 – 335 (up from 280)
  BMW X1 – 306 (up from 232)
  Audi Q2 – 211 (up from 109)

• SUV Medium under $60,000:
  Mazda CX-5 – 2298 (up from 2166)
  Hyundai Tucson – 2135 (up from 1530)
  Nissan X-Trail – 1992 (up from 730)

• SUV Medium above $60,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLC – 425 (up from 239)
  Lexus NX – 306 (up from 235)
  BMW X3 – 298 (up from 192)

• SUV Large under $70,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1619 (up from 1301)
  Subaru Outback – 1195 (up from 896)
  Toyota Kluger – 1145 (up from 939)

• SUV Large above $70,000:
  BMW X5 – 320 (up from 247)
  Audi Q7 – 291 (up from 209)
  Mercedes-Benz GLE – 223 (up from 174)

• SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser – 1313 (up from 1032)
  Nissan Patrol – 73 (up from 48)

• SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class/GL – 97 (up from 87)
  Range Rover – 32 (up from 27)
  Lexus LX – 26 (down from 29)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in May were up on April figures. During May, Australian consumers bought 102,901 vehicles compared with 83,135 in April. Overall sales are up 6.4 per cent compared with May 2016, and down 0.9 per cent year-to-date.