Australian vehicle sales for October 2017 (VFACTS) – Hyundai i30 takes the lead

The end of the year is almost here, and now is the exciting time for Australian car sales as the winners and losers start to show their final placing. But we’ve got another couple of months to go yet so let’s take a look at the Australian VFACTS figures for new vehicle registrations during October 2017.

Firstly, the best-selling vehicles brands stacked up pretty consistently with last month. However, and it’s a big ‘however’, Mazda has dropped from second spot leaving the door open for Hyundai to swoop in. Holden has also regained some market force from September, moving back up into fourth. The top 10 most popular car brands during October 2017 were as follows:

1. Toyota – 17,836 (up from 17,377 of September 2017 sales)
2. Hyundai – 8800 (up from 8130)
3. Mazda – 8054 (down from 10,328)
4. Holden – 7726 (up from 6882)
5. Ford – 5785 (down from 6845)
6. Mitsubishi – 5550 (down from 7065)
7. Volkswagen – 4941 (up from 4901)
8. Subaru – 4667 (up from 4641)
9. Kia – 4255 (down from 4662)
10. Honda – 3870 (down from 4393)

As for the best-selling vehicle models, the Hyundai i30 has charged to the front. It pushed out the Ford Ranger and the unstoppable Toyota HiLux, and even the Toyota Corolla. Unfortunately, Mazda3 sales seem to be dropping off following plenty of popularity over the past four to five years. The top 10 best-selling vehicles for October 2017 were as follows:

1. Hyundai i30 – 3983 (up from 2300)
2. Toyota HiLux – 3812 (down from 3822)
3. Toyota Corolla – 3088 (up from 3055)
4. Ford Ranger – 3074 (down from 4318)
5. Holden Commodore – 2418 (down from 2547)
6. Mazda CX-5 – 2173 (up from 1910)
7. Toyota Camry – 2057 (down from 2251)
8. Mazda3 – 1962 (down from 2776)
9. Mitsubishi Triton – 1857 (up from 1732)
10. Nissan X-Trail – 1762 (up from 1333)

Small Cars under $40,000 – Again, here it’s where we see the Mazda3 slipping behind in the segment. Mazda has previewed the next-gen Mazda3 with a stunning concept, which could help reignite some of the popularity when it arrives next year. However, the Toyota Corolla is still going strong despite very few updates. In the front is the new i30. The top 10 best-selling small cars in October were as follows:

1. Hyundai i30 – 3983 (up from 2300)
2. Toyota Corolla – 3088 (up from 3055 of September)
3. Mazda3 – 1962 (down from 2776)
4. Volkswagen Golf – 1808 (up from 1592)
5. Kia Cerato – 1306 (down from 1588)
6. Honda Civic – 1238 (down from 1497)
7. Holden Astra – 1031 (up from 801)
8. Subaru Impreza – 988 (up from 918)
9. Mitsubishi Lancer – 508 (down from 608)
10. Ford Focus – 498 (up from 416)

Medium Cars under $60,000 – The Toyota Camry keeps on keeping on in this class, with the familiar Ford Mondeo and Mazda6 following behind. The Subaru Levorg continues in front of its distant father, the Liberty, just behind the Skoda Octavia to round out the top five. The top five best-selling models in this class for October were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 2057 (down from 2251 of September)
2. Ford Mondeo – 255 (up from 116)
3. Mazda6 – 200 (down from 370)
4. Skoda Octavia – 195 (up from 153)
5. Subaru Levorg – 139 (down from 142)

Medium Cars over $60,000 – Into the demanding mid-size luxury class, it’s all about the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. It’s easily on track to take the crown this year as the best-seller overall. Year-to-date, 7162 buyers have jumped on board, with runner-up Mercedes CLA far behind with 2850. Third place so far is the BMW 3 Series with 2220 sales for the year.  The top five best-selling vehicles in this class during October were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 609 (down from 910)
2. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 203 (down from 344)
3. BMW 3 Series – 191 (up from 164)
4. Audi A4 – 126 (down from 140)
5. Lexus IS – 111 (up from 104)

Large Cars under $70,000 – The Ford Falcon is still kicking on, reporting just 10 sales in October despite production coming to an end in October last year. Existing stock is still being sold off. Its long-time rival the Holden Commodore is going strong even though production ended for it as well, but only last month. The Toyota Aurion is dwindling down after production ended in August. Meanwhile, the hot new Kia Stinger joins the segment, firing off to a great start. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for October 2017 were as follows:

1. Holden Commodore – 2418 (down from 2547)
2. Kia Stinger – 223 (new model)
3. Toyota Aurion – 132 (down from 214)
4. Skoda Superb – 73 (down from 84)
5. Ford Falcon – 10 (up from 2)

Large Cars over $70,000 – Stepping into the luxury version of the class above, and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is only just in front this month. Creeping up right behind is the BMW 5 Series, with the Audi A6 and Jaguar XF posting identical sales for third. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment in October were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 89 (down from 164)
2. BMW 5 Series – 87 (up from 71)
3. Jaguar XF – 18 (down from 23)/Audi A6 – 18 (up from 17)
4. Lexus GS – 17 (up from 14)
5. Maserati Ghibli – 14 (down from 16)

Sports Car under $80,000 – Over into the sports cars and it’s the Ford Mustang that stands above of course. Sales have been going very strong for around 12 months now, with no rival capable of getting near. With the launch of the new Kia Stinger and the departure of the Holden Commodore SS, maybe we’ll see some shifting around here. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class for October were as follows:

1. Ford Mustang – 629 (down from 659 of September)
2. Hyundai Veloster – 167 (up from 98)
3. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 130 (down from 151)
4. Toyota 86 – 112 (up from 90)
5. Mazda MX-5 – 98 (down from 134)
   (Subaru WRX – 252 [up from 227] – not officially in this segment, shown for comparison)

Sport Cars over $80,000 – In the more expensive yet more alluring class, we see the Mercedes C-Class two-door is continuing its lead. It easily outsells the arch rival BMW 4 Series. Year-to-date sales are up 35.9 per cent, while the 4 Series is down 30.5 per cent. The Audi A5 is experiencing decent growth with the recent launch of the new model, returning a rise of 46.5 per cent year-to-date. The top five best-selling models in this category were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 170 (down from 242)
2. BMW 4 Series Coupe – 75 (down from 81)
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 58 (down from 123)
4. Audi A5 – 51 (up from 49)
5. Lexus RC – 44 (up from 35)

Sport Cars over $200,000 – The big guns are not led by the Porsche 911, which is a first in a long time. No, instead the Mercedes-AMG GT takes the crown this month, just.  The top five best-selling vehicles in the class during October were as follows:

1. Mercedes-AMG GT – 21 (up from 17)
2. Porsche 911 – 19 (down from 35)
3. Lamborghini (not specified) – 9 (down from 11)
4. McLaren (not specified) – 8 (down from 12)
5. Aston Martin – 7/Bentley (not specified) – 7/Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe/convertible – 7

Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute – Over in the Aussie favourite, the top utes have flipped around a bit. Ford enjoyed a short stint at the top with the Ranger in September, but now it’s back to second place as the HiLux reclaims the crown. Mitsubishi Triton sales are still going very well, which should result in impressive figures by the year’s end. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined) for October were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 3812 (down from 3822 from September)
2. Ford Ranger – 3074 (down from 4318)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 1857 (up from 1732)
4. Isuzu D-Max – 1496 (up from 1470)
5. Holden Colorado – 1393 (up from 1039)
6. Mazda BT-50 – 1333 (down from 1376)
7. Nissan Navara – 1006 (down from 1174)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 926 (down from 945)
9. Great Wall Steed – 30 (down from 36)
10. All remaining models posted 0 sales

Into the fastest growing classes of all, the SUVs. We see a few shuffles around, with the new BMW X3 joining the range, the new Land Rover Discovery setting decent pace in its class, and the Nissan X-Trail storming its way into second spot in the medium class.

The ‘Medium under $60,000’ segment continues as the favourite segment, with 12,887 sales combined, up 16.4 per cent year-to-date. As before, the  ‘Small under $40,000’ category comes in second favourite with 8998 sales, up 1.8 per cent. And the ‘Large under $70,000’ segment completes the top three, with 8253 sales, down 2.8 per cent.

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

• SUV Small under $40,000:
  Mitsubishi ASX – 1542 (down from 1676)
  Subaru XV – 1182 (up from 1176)
  Mazda CX-3 – 1106 (down from 1245 from September)
  

• SUV Small above $40,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLA – 295 (down from 347)
  BMW X1 – 256 (down from 324)
  Audi Q2 – 226 (up from 131)

• SUV Medium under $60,000:
  Mazda CX-5 – 2173 (up from 2048)
  Nissan X-Trail  – 1762 (up from 1333)
  Toyota RAV4 – 1700 (up from 1452)

• SUV Medium above $60,000:
  Audi Q5 – 559 (up from 344)
  Mercedes-Benz GLC – 366 (up from 338)
  BMW X3 – 363 (up from 287)

• SUV Large under $70,000:
  Toyota Kluger – 1120 (up from 1040)
  Subaru Outback – 912 (up from 832)
  Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 829 (down from 1127)

• SUV Large above $70,000:
  BMW X5 – 262 (down from 408)
  Lexus RX – 254 (up from 146)
  Land Rover Discovery – 239 (up from 145)

• SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser – 1117 (down from 1243)
  Nissan Patrol – 20 (down from 76)

• SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class/GL – 49 (down from 69)
  Lexus LX – 30 (up from 27)
  Range Rover – 20 (down from 26)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in October were up on September figures. During October, Australian consumers bought 95,763 vehicles according to VFACTS compared with 100,200 in September. Overall sales for the month are up 2.6 per cent compared with October 2016, and up 0.5 per cent year-to-date.