Australian vehicles sales for October 2016 – HiLux conquers all

Australian VFACTS figures for new vehicle registrations have been released for October 2016, and we see a number of car brands reporting drops in sales compared with September.

The top 10 best-selling vehicle brands sees Toyota remain in its usual position at the top. It was one of many companies that experienced a dip in sales from the previous month although its drop was marginal compared with some of the others. Mazda dipped down about 1500 sales, leaving it in third position from second the previous month. Subaru just made it into the positive, while Nissan, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen were the only others to see increases from September. The top 10 most popular brands for October 2016 were as follows:

1. Toyota – 16,348 (down from 16,716 of September 2016 sales)
2. Hyundai – 8704 (down from 9319)
3. Mazda – 7921 (down from 12,009)
4. Holden – 7521 (down from 8564)
5. Ford – 6508 (down from 7280)
6. Nissan – 5543 (up from 5177)
7. Mitsubishi – 5227 (down from 6701)
8. Volkswagen – 4869 (up from 4380)
9. Subaru – 4140 (up from 4050)
10. Kia – 3543 (down from 3687)

As for the best-selling vehicle models specifically, the Toyota HiLux came in on top of them all. Interestingly, the Ford Ranger backed up for second place. Utes certainly seem to be the new car of choice for not only workers but they could be the new family car. In the Corolla-versus-Mazda3 race it was Toyota that crossed the line first. Hyundai’s Accent posted impressive figures once again, while the Nissan X-Trail crept into the top 10. The top 10 best-selling vehicles for October 2016 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 3352 (up from 3209)
2. Ford Ranger – 3217 (up from 2903)
3. Toyota Corolla – 3210 (down from 3423)
4. Hyundai i30 – 2718 (down from 2741)
5. Mazda3 – 2191 (down from 3491)
6. Toyota Camry – 2135 (up from 2008)
7. Holden Commodore – 2101 (down from 2366)
8. Hyundai Accent – 2009 (down from 2189)
9. Hyundai Tucson – 1845 (down from 2209)
10. Nissan X-Trail – 1655 (up from 1549)

Medium Cars under $60,000 – The new Subaru Levorg has dropped down out of the top five after being quite popular during its initial launch. It seems its older brother, the Subaru Liberty, is taking its place. A newcomer to the top five is the Skoda Octavia, posting decent figures. The top five best-selling models in this class were as follows:

1. Toyota Camry – 2135 (up from 2008 of September)
2. Subaru Liberty – 302 (down from 316)
3. Ford Mondeo – 275 (down from 288)
4. Mazda6 – 243 (down from 383)
5. Skoda Octavia – 233 (up from 153)

Medium Cars over $60,000 – In this executive class it seems the Mercedes C-Class is easily the hot favourite, more than doubling the sales effort of its arch rival, the BMW 3 Series. In fact, its sleeker brother, the Mercedes CLA, followed up with figures good enough for second place. The other German rivals made up the rest with the Lexus IS left to fifth. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 556 (up from 539)
2. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 281 (down from 333)
3. BMW 3 Series – 231 (down from 273)
4. Audi A4 – 216 (down from 264)
5. Lexus IS – 138 (up from 120)

Large Cars under $70,000 – Although the Ford Falcon is officially out of production now sales continue to taken for the leftover, already-built stock. Even so, figures remain very low compared with its longtime rival, the Holden Commodore. Toyota Aurion sales are soon to dip too as it prepares to go out of production in the next 12 months. At the lower end of the top five we see the Peugeot 508 has kicked out the Hyundai Genesis. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:

1. Holden Commodore – 2101 (down from 2366)
2. Ford Falcon – 428 (down from 462)
3. Toyota Aurion – 336 (up from 310)
4. Skoda Superb – 104 (up from 70)
5. Peugeot 508 – 33 (up from 10)

Large Cars over $70,000 – Again, Mercedes-Benz leads the way here with the new E-Class. The nameplate almost quadrupled the sales of its main rival from BMW, the 5 Series. Lexus crept up in the top-sellers here, jumping into fourth place with its GS, while the Jaguar XF managed to push out the Maserati Ghibli and Mercedes CLS for fifth. The top five best-selling vehicles in this segment in October 2016 were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 165 (up from 127)
2. BMW 5 Series – 43 (down from 45)
3. Audi A6 – 37 (down from 63)
4. Lexus GS – 33 (up from 13)
5. Jaguar XF – 30 (up from 11)

Sports Car under $80,000 – Weekend fun-goers are continuing to favour the Ford Mustang here, as it again posted the highest sales. It couldn’t quite catch September’s high figure but it still fended off the rivals with plenty of gap to spare. The Hyundai Veloster maintains second place but we suspect this could change when the updated Toyota 86 arrives. Renault jumped into the top five with Megane Convertible, which pushed out the 86. The top five best-selling vehicles in this class were as follows:

1. Ford Mustang – 584 (down from 786 of September)
2. Hyundai Veloster – 220 (down from 322)
3. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible – 129 (down from 237)
4. Mazda MX-5 – 97 (down from 148)
5. Renault Megane Convertible – 94 (down from 141)
   (Subaru WRX – 254 [down from 390] – not officially in this segment)

Sport Cars over $80,000 – Move up a caliber and we see the Mercedes C-Class two-door is still the favourite, followed far behind by the BMW 4 Series. Lexus moved up with the RC, sitting in third spot, while the Audi TT and Mercedes E-Class two-door make up the top five. The top five best-selling vehicles in this category were as follows:

1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible – 267 (down from 268)
2. BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible – 102 (down from 115)
3. Lexus RC – 64 (up from 38)
4. Audi TT – 48 (down from 50)
5. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible – 35 (down from 48)

Sport Cars over $200,000 – Porsche continues to dominate the flagship sports car segment in Australia, however, sales have taken a bit of a tumble in the past two months. Ferrari stormed ahead posting decent figures for second place, while Bentley managed impressive figures for third – it’s normally much lower down in the sales hierarchy. The top five best-selling vehicles in the class during October 2016 were as follows:

1. Porsche 911 – 25 (down from 72)
2. Ferrari (not specified) – 15 (up from 10)
3. Bentley (not specified) – 14 (up from 9)
4. Audi R8 – 9 (equal)
5. Mercedes-AMG GT – 8 (down from 11)

Combined 4×2 and 4×4 ute – More and more motorists are taking a liking to the idea of the ute, with sales seemingly unstoppable for most models. There weren’t many changes in the best-selling lineup, with only the Nissan Navara overtaking the Mazda BT-50 for sixth place compared with September. The top 10 best-selling utes (4×2 and 4×4 combined) for October 2016 were as follows:

1. Toyota HiLux – 3352 (up from 3209 of September 2016)
2. Ford Ranger – 3217 (up from 2903)
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 1602 (down from 2246)
4. Holden Colorado – 1358 (down from 1732)
5. Isuzu D-Max – 1267 (down from 1400)
6. Nissan Navara – 1098 (down from 1144)
7. Mazda BT-50 – 945 (down from 1361)
8. Volkswagen Amarok – 572 (down from 654)
9. Foton Tunland – 47 (down from 67)
10. Great Wall Steed – 11 (new model)

SUV classes saw some changes in the front-runners. The Hyundai Tucson was the best-selling SUV for October overall, bumping out the usual Mazda CX-5. The CX-5 remains the most popular SUV for the year, but for October it was overtaken by the Hyundai, the Nissan X-Trail, and the Mitsubishi ASX.

The most popular category remains the ‘SUV Medium under $60,000’ class, with 12,268 sales in total in October. The figure is up 8.1 per cent compared with October 2015, when 11,344 units were sold.

In as second favourite segment is the ‘SUV Large below $70,000’ class. Buyers jumped into 9773 units in October 2016, up 5.2 per cent compared with October 2015.

Completing the top three most popular SUV segments is the ‘SUV Small below $40,000’ segment, with 7669 sales, down 11.6 per cent compared with October 2015.

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

• SUV Small under $40,000:
  Mitsubishi ASX – 1650 (down from 1776 of September)
  Mazda CX-3 – 1176 (down from 1878 )
  Honda HR-V – 1026 (down from 1030)

• SUV Small above $40,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class – 623 (up from 477)
  BMW X1 – 267 (down from 375)
  Audi Q3 – 234 (down from 341)

• SUV Medium under $60,000:
  Hyundai Tucson – 1845 (down from 2209)
  Nissan X-Trail – 1655 (up from 1549)
  Mazda CX-5 – 1612 (down from 2662)

• SUV Medium above $60,000:
  Audi Q5 – 443 (up from 326)
  Mercedes-Benz GLC – 361 (down from 369)
  Lexus NX – 354 (up from 229)

• SUV Large under $70,000:
  Subaru Outback – 1203 (up from 1042)
  Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1049 (down from 1160)
  Holden Captiva – 990 (up from 922)

• SUV Large above $70,000:
  BMW X5 – 282 (down from 310)
  Range Rover Sport – 220 (down from 253)
  Volkswagen Touareg – 202 (up from 156)

• SUV Upper Large under $100,000:
  Toyota LandCruiser – 972 (up from 903)
  Nissan Patrol – 170 (down from 277)

• SUV Upper Large above $100,000:
  Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class/GL – 74 (down from 76)
  Lexus LX – 35 (up from 33)
  Range Rover – 31 (up from 30)

Total new vehicle sales in Australia in October were up on September figures. During October, Australian consumers bought 93,357 vehicles, compared with 102,696 in September. Sales are down 1.0 per cent compared with October 2015, with year-to-date figures up 2.4 per cent.