Australian new vehicle registration VFACTS figures for June 2014 have been released, with overall sales figures nudging the big numbers achieved this time last year. Private sales were up 8.6 per cent on last year’s effort, with noticeable increases in SUV purchases.
Toyota dominated the overall brand rankings once again, but even so, Toyota’s sales were down by 6.1 per cent on the same month last year. Holden followed up with some impressive figures, but still quite a distance from the Japanese brand.
Mercedes-Benz was unable to hold onto its 10th position overall from May, giving it back to Kia. Meanwhile, Hyundai holds onto third place after taking it from Mazda a couple of months ago.
All other brands are unchanged in terms of position, and all experienced increases compared with the previous month. The top ten results for June 2014 were as follows:
1. Toyota – 20,808 (up from 17,246 of May 2014)
2. Holden – 12,332 (up from 9012)
3. Hyundai – 10,008 (up from 8403)
4. Mazda – 9374 (up from 7751)
5. Ford – 8715 (up from 6950)
6. Mitsubishi – 8281 (up from 5780)
7. Nissan – 7992 (up from 6281)
8. Volkswagen – 6597 (up from 4918)
9. Subaru – 3851 (up from 3302)
10. Kia – 3305 (up from 2444)
As for the best-selling vehicle of the month? It was of course the Toyota Corolla. Toyota enjoyed massive sales of the world’s most popular nameplate, achieving its highest figure since December 2010. It’s now the fourth consecutive month for the Corolla in top spot.
Unfortunately the often-most-popular Mazda3 couldn’t get near the Corolla in June. In fact the Toyota HiLux and Mitsubishi Triton sit above the humble small car in the top ranks.
The Aussie Holden Commodore had no choice but to be pushed down out of the top five, despite impressive sales, leaving the Hyundai i30 in fifth. The top five models in terms of outright sales for June 2014 were as follows:
1. Toyota Corolla – 4648 (up from 3871)
2. Toyota HiLux – 4276 (up from 3313)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 4124 (up from 2254)
4. Mazda3 – 4059 (up from 3291)
5. Hyundai i30– 3243 (up from 2553)
In the semi-sporty Medium Cars under $60,000 segment there were no surprises at the top, with the Toyota Camry remaining firmly in number one position. 2378 examples of the mid-sizer were sold, followed a long way behind by the Mazda6 (585) and the Volkswagen Passat (433).
Stepping up a segment into the Medium Cars over $60,000 category, BMW came through with the goods. Specifically, buyers liked the 3 Series in June, overtaking the popular Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The well-rounded Lexus IS maintains in third position in front of the Audi A4. The top five in this segment were as follows:
1. BMW 3 Series – 503 (up from 432 of May)
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 322 (down from 466)
3. Lexus IS – 287 (up from 261)
4. Audi A4 – 279 (up from 158)
5. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 235 (up from 144)
In what used to be Australia’s favourite segment, the Large Cars under $70,000, Holden VF Commodore sales are going strong. Holden pushed 3156 examples out the showroom doors (up from 2648), followed by the Toyota Aurion with 798 sales (up from 390). This is the first time the Toyota has overtaken the Ford Falcon in a long time. Ford Falcon sales topped just 552 (d0wn from 706).
Moving up into the premium Large Cars over $70,000 segment, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is holding onto its lead against the popular rivals. The Jaguar XF actually overtook the Merc’s main rival in June, the BMW 5 Series. Lexus remains just outside the top five this time with its GS. The top five vehicle sales figures in this segment were as follows:
1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 125 (down from 142 of May)
2. Jaguar XF – 95 (up from 74)
3. BMW 5 Series – 75 (down from 80)
4. Audi A6 – 48 (down from 52)
5. Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class – 53 (up from 41)
If you’re after a fun weekend machine, the Sports Car under $80,000 segment has a number of tantalising options. Hyundai, for the first time in a long while, overtook the Toyota 86 for the best-seller crown. The 86’s brother, the Subaru BRZ, came as close as ever to the 86 in June.
VFACTS is continuing to place the Subaru WRX in the small car segment with the Toyota Corolla, however, we feel it needs to go here. If it did, it would have ranked at the top in June, with 260 sales. The top five sellers in the category were as follows:
1. Hyundai Veloster – 221 (down from 300)
2. Toyota 86 – 158 (down from 391)
3. BMW 1/2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 136 (down from 151)
4. Subaru BRZ – 133 (up from 60)
5. Volkswagen Beetle – 92 (up from 42)
(Subaru WRX – 260 [down from 201])
In the more exciting Sport Cars over $80,000 segment, Mercedes-Benz managed to outsell the previous month’s top-seller, the BMW 4 Series. Most of the other standings remained unchanged, except the Mercedes SLK steps in front of the Audi A5. The top five sellers in this category were as follows:
1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe – 326 (up from 167)
2. BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible including 3 Series – 181 (up from 170)
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Cabrio – 97 (down from 105)
4. Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class – 67 (up from 27)
5. Audi A5 – 57 (down from 59)
Over in the real sports car arena, the Sport Cars over $200,000 segment, the BMW 6 Series overtakes the famed Porsche 911. The 911 has enjoyed top spot for months now, with the 6 Series consistently snapping at its heels. This was thanks to a drop in 911 sales and an increase in 6 Series purchases. Runner-up went to both the Jaguar XK and Ferrari models. The top five in this category were as follows:
1. BMW 6 Series – 27 (up from 21 of May)
2. Porsche 911 – 26 (down from 30)
=3. Maserati (models not specified) – 17 (up from 14)
=3. Jaguar XK – 17 (up from 11)
4. Mercedes-Benz SL-Class – 12 (up from 6)
5. Ferrari (models not specified) – 11 (equal)
In the very popular 4×4 ute segment, the Toyota HiLux has finally been relegated to second spot. Mitsubishi showed its strength in June with an abundant 3725 sales of the 4×4 Triton, followed by the HiLux with 3141 sales, and the Ford Ranger with 2554 sales.
Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute sales is where Toyota continued its more regular form. Mitsubishi pushed the Ford Ranger out of second position from May, while the Nissan Navara just edged ahead of the Holden Colorado. The Isuzu D-Max showed promise and overtook the Mazda BT-50 too. Almost all models experienced a decent hike in sales compared with the previous month. The top ten 4×2 and 4×4 combined figures for June 2014 were as follows:
1. Toyota HiLux – 4276 (up from 3313 in May)
2. Mitsubishi Triton – 4124 (up from 2254)
3. Ford Ranger – 3214 (up from 2317)
4. Nissan Navara – 2262 (up from 1541)
5. Holden Colorado – 2241 (up from 1689)
6. Isuzu D-Max – 1478 (up from 995)
7. Mazda BT-50 – 1189 (up from 1078)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 989 (up from 578)
9. Great Wall V200 – 123 (up from 105)
10. Great Wall V240 – 72 (equal)
Lastly, the SUV segments saw some big increases across the board in terms of sales. The standings weren’t really shuffled around that much, except the Land Rover Discovery pushed the Range Rover Sport out of the top three in its segment, while the Holden Captiva 7 nudged out the Ford Territory in its class.
Mazda reported huge sales of the CX-5, penetrating beyond 2000 units. The latest Range Rover also managed to keep up with the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class in the high-end upper large segment, matching its figure. Almost all models enjoyed much higher sales compared with May 2014.
In all SUV segments, the top-sellers for June 2014 were as follows:
SUV Small under $40,000:
Hyundai ix35 – 1851 (up from 1405 of May)
Nissan Dualis – 1634 (up from 1187)
Subaru XV – 1209 (up from 942)
SUV Small above $40,000:
Audi Q3 – 291 (down from 293)
BMW X1 – 201 (up from 126)
Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class – 84 (down from 76)
SUV Medium under $60,000:
Mazda CX-5 – 2211 (up from 1715)
Toyota RAV4 – 1351 (down from 1522)
Subaru Forester – 1343 (up from 1174)
SUV Medium above $60,000:
Audi Q5 – 289 (down from 324)
BMW X3 – 272 (up from 247)
Range Rover Evoque – 231 (up from 151)
SUV Large under $70,000:
Jeep Grand Cherokee – 1785 (up from 1694)
Toyota Prado – 1674 (up from 1460)
Holden Captiva 7 – 1278 (up from 748)
SUV Large above $70,000:
BMW X5 – 480 (up from 365)
Mercedes-Benz M-Class – 317 (up from 219)
Land Rover Discovery – 287 (up from 207)
SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
Toyota LandCruiser – 778 (down from 874)
Nissan Patrol – 237 (up from 209)
SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class – 46 (down from 50)
Range Rover – 46 (up from 42)
Lexus LX – 14 (down from 17)
Total new vehicle sales in Australia in June climbed considerably on May’s figures, with 118,309 sales compared with 94,562 in May. Although it’s a lot of vehicles in one month, it just misses out on beating June 2013’s 118,758 effort.
As for what fuel types buyers preferred in June, the sales figures for private buyers in terms of vehicle fuel were as follows (passenger, SUV, and light commercial combined):
Petrol – 49,152 (up from 35,970 of May)
Diesel – 19,456 (up from 13,612)
Hybrid – 423 (up from 333)
LPG – 39 (up from 27)
Electric – 10 (up from 6)
