Australian vehicle sales for April 2016 – Mercedes moves into 9th overall

The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has released the national VFACTS vehicle sales figures for April 2016, and it looks like Ford has overtaken Holden for the first time in years. Mercedes-Benz also proved premium is the new trend.

In the top 10 best-selling vehicle brands list Ford jumped from sixth position in March to fourth position last month. Volkswagen also moved ahead from eighth position to sixth spot, while Hyundai overtook Mazda for second place no doubt thanks to strong i30 sales. Interestingly, Mercedes-Benz, the only premium carmaker in this top 10, moved into 9th spot. This means more consumers are buying Mercedes over Subaru, and other conventional brands like Honda (2107) and Kia (3025). The top 10 most popular brands for April 2016 were as follows:

1. Toyota – 16,567 (down from 17,849 of March 2016 sales)
2. Hyundai – 8643 (down from 9700)
3. Mazda – 8461 (down from 10,228)
4. Ford – 6842 (up from 6481)
5. Holden – 6710 (down from 8355)
6. Volkswagen – 4732 (down from 5316)
7. Mitsubishi – 4178 (down from 6519)
8. Nissan – 4044 (down from 5811)
9. Mercedes-Benz – 3303 (down from 3728)
10. Subaru – 3156 (down from 4825)

In terms of the best-selling models, specifically, the Hyundai i30 has once again proved very popular. It outshone the regular front runners by quite a margin. The top 10 welcomed the Mazda CX-3 compact SUV for the first time, while the Ford Ranger ute actually overtook the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3 – a trend set to continue? The top 10 best-selling vehicles for April 2016 were as follows:

1. Hyundai i30 – 4143 (down from 4198)
2. Toyota HiLux – 3384 (down from 3897)
3. Ford Ranger – 2973 (up from 2960)
4. Toyota Corolla – 2959 (down from 3612)
5. Mazda3 – 2512 (down from 3145)
6. Holden Commodore – 1908 (down from 2559)
7. Volkswagen Golf – 1811 (up from 1782)
8. Mazda CX-5 – 1675 (down from 2252)
9. Mazda CX-3 – 1604 (down from 1755)
10. Hyundai Accent – 1555 (down from 2034)

Medium Cars under $60,000 – Toyota just keeps winning with the Camry in this segment, despite some other very good options present in the class such as the Mazda6 and Ford Mondeo. In terms of popularity, the closest any competitor gets is the Mazda6, but it can’t even match half the sales of the Toyota. During April the Volkswagen Passat overtook the Mazda, likely helped by the release of the new model. The top five best-selling models in this class were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 1511 (down from 1939)
2. Volkswagen Passat – 330 (up from 270)
3. Mazda6 – 314 (down from 384)
4. Subaru Liberty – 206 (down from 298)
5. Ford Mondeo – 202 (down from 210)

Medium Cars over $60,000 –It’s a very competitive segment, and a number of brands are popping up in this space and introducing rather appealing propositions. During April the Mercedes C-Class was the most popular once again, followed by the BMW 3 Series arch rival. The new Jaguar XE continues to just sneak into the top five. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 533 (down from 696)
2. BMW 3 Series – 387 (down from 389)
3. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 367 (up from 308)
4. Audi A4 – 150 (down from 273)
5. Jaguar XE – 131 (down from 190)

Large Cars under $70,000 – Australia’s favourite sedans are soon to be no more. Although, the Holden Commodore seems to be holding on, Ford Falcon sales continue to dwindle as its imminent sacking approaches later this year. Toyota Aurion sales aren’t doing any better, and it looks like the initial excitement of the new Skoda Superb has dropped off a bit compared with the previous month. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:

1. Holden Commodore – 1908 (down from 2559)
2. Ford Falcon – 410 (down from 411)
3. Toyota Aurion – 219 (down from 226)
4. Skoda Superb – 53 (down from 106)
5. Hyundai Genesis – 21 (down from 61)

Large Cars over $70,000 – It’s no wonder Mercedes-Benz is now in number nine spot overall. It leads the way in the luxury sedan segment, with the E-Class following the same path of the smaller C-Class. The three German brands crossed the line in perfect trifecta formation in April, leaving the Jaguar XF and Maserati to make up the numbers. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment in April 2016 were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 93 (up from 90 of March)
2. BMW 5 Series – 46 (down from 50)
3. Audi A6 – 41 (down from 44)
4. Jaguar XF – 38 (down from 57)
5. Maserati Ghibli – 36 (up from 33)

Sports Car under $80,000 – The Ford Mustang is continuing its success in Australia. Ford dealers simply can’t keep up with the amount of orders being handed over. It’s understood Ford Australia could be producing a much larger sales figure if the demand was supplied. The BMW 2 Series tied with the great new Mazda MX-5, leaving room for the Holden Astra Sport to sneak into the top five. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:

1. Ford Mustang – 690 (up from 373)
2. Toyota 86 – 195 (down from 21o)
3. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 185 (down from 195)/Mazda MX-5 – 185 (down from 192)
4. Hyundai Veloster – 79 (down from 198)
5. Holden Astra Sport – 56 (down from 167)
   (Subaru WRX – 113 [up from 309] – not officially in this segment)

Sport Cars over $80,000 – BMW has lost the crown with the 4 Series in this segment, overtaken by the two-door C-Class models. Interestingly, both cars saw a rise in sales compared with the previous month despite an otherwise slow month. The top five best-selling vehicles in this category were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 196 (up from 108)
2. BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible – 163 (up from 138)
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 60 (down from 78)
4. Lexus RC – 54 (up from 51)
5. Audi TT – 45 (down from 67)

Sport Cars over $200,000 – This is the segment we all want to be in. And it looks like more buyers are flocking to Porsche dealers to sign for a 911 than any other sports car. Sales took a bit of tumble last month compared with the previous month though. Mercedes-AMG GT sales spiked, placing it in equal second. The top five best-selling vehicles in the class during April 2016 were as follows:

1. Porsche 911 – 29 (down from 53 of March)
2. Mercedes-AMG GT – 15/BMW 6 Series – 15
3. Ferrari (not specified) – 13 (down from 14)
4. Lamborghini (not specified) – 8 (down from 13)
5. Bentley Coupe/Convertible – 6 (down from 11)

Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute –The ute segment took a bit of a dive last month, with all models except the Ford Ranger reporting a drop in sales. Not much happened in the overall top 10 standings either, although the Holden Colorado moved up into fourth spot. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined) for April 2016 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 3384 (down from 3897 of March)
2. Ford Ranger – 2973 (up from 2960)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 1443 (down from 2740)
4. Holden Colorado – 1228 (down from 1385)
5. Isuzu D-Max – 1067 (down from 1792)
6. Mazda BT-50 – 1057 (down from 1236)
7. Nissan Navara – 1035 (down from 1179)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 619 (down from 987)
9. Foton Tunland – 60 (down from 86)
10. Ssangyong Actyon Sports – 3 (down from 7)

SUV segments are continuing to grow like no other. The most popular size category is the ‘SUV Medium under $60,000’ class, with 9602 sales in total. The figure is up 7.2 per cent on the same month last year when 8954 units were sold.

The second most popular SUV segment in April was the ‘SUV Large below $70,000’ class. Sales dropped this year though, by 6.5 per cent to 8623 compare with 9220 in April 2015.

Rounding out the favourite three classes is the ‘SUV Small below $40,000’. Overall sales reached 7041 in April, down 5.5 per cent compared with the same month last year. The Mazda CX-3 was a very demanding model for the class, which, as we saw, helped place it in the overall top 10 best-selling vehicles of the month.

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

• SUV Small under $40,000:
  Mazda CX-3 – 1604 (down from 1755 of March)
  Mitsubishi ASX – 920 (down from 1415)
  Honda HR-V – 872 (down from 993)

• SUV Small above $40,000:
  BMW X1 – 326 (down from 524)
  Audi Q3 – 324 (down from 410)
  Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class – 231 (down from 293)

• SUV Medium under $60,000:
  Mazda CX-5 – 1675 (down from 2252)
  Toyota RAV4 – 1524 (up from 1467)
  Hyundai Tucson – 1302 (up from 1269)

• SUV Medium above $60,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class – 458 (down from 512)
  Lexus NX – 319 (up from 314)
  BMW X3 – 306 (down from 332)

• SUV Large under $70,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1329 (down from 1331)
  Toyota Kluger – 946 (down from 1198)
  Holden Captiva – 823 (down from 1077)

• SUV Large above $70,000:
  BMW X5 – 359 (down from 373)
  Range Rover Sport – 260 (down from 315)
  Mercedes-Benz GLE – 227 (down from 237)

• SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser – 1349 (up from 791)
  Nissan Patrol – 117 (down from 136)

• SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class/GL – 78 (52+26)
  Range Rover – 41 (down from 51)
  Lexus LX – 37 (up from 11)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in April were down on March figures. During April, Australian consumers bought 87,571 vehicles, compared with 104,512 in March. Sales are up 7.2 per cent compared with April 2015, with year-to-date figures up 3.8 per cent.