VFACTS: November new vehicle sales show supply is improving

Australia’s new vehicle sales grew 17.9 per cent November to 95,080 vehicles, marking the fifth successive month of growth as supply levels improve.

The November result took January to November year-to-date sales to 993,509 sales, up 2.3 per cent over 2021 at the same point in time.

At the half-year mark, sales were down 5.2 per cent on the 2021 tally, showing the improvement over H2 as dealers get their hands on more stock to satisfy ongoing demand.

The top brand was Toyota, the top model was the HiLux (although the Ford Ranger was the victor in the more lucrative 4×4 market), and medium SUVs were the most popular vehicle type.

“The automotive sector is continuing to recover from pandemic related shutdowns, a global shortage of microprocessors and the general supply chain uncertainty we experienced over the last two years,” FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said.

“The industry will deliver the one millionth vehicle to the market in 2022 next week. While this is positive news, many customers are still facing extended wait times for their vehicle, with expected delivery dates for some models beyond 12 months.”

Brands

Toyota and Mazda grew by 31.9 per cent and 42.6 per cent respectively, while Ford grew 15.3 per cent to take bronze.

Kia grew 24.5 per cent and in so doing extended its YTD lead over Mitsubishi and Hyundai – which both posted negative monthly results – to sit third with a month to go.

MG jumped 46.9 per cent in no small part due to heavy demand for rental vehicles near the Christmas period, with the MG ZS the overall top-selling SUV in market.

Subaru was up a healthy 36.5 per cent, ahead of Volkswagen (despite dipping 1.7 per cent it held onto ninth), while GWM finished in the top 10 for the second consecutive month with 47.8 per cent growth.

Other brands that grew above the market average of 17.9 per cent included Isuzu Ute (up 30.9 per cent), Suzuki (24.2 per cent), Audi (28.2 per cent), Volvo (59.4 per cent), Ram Trucks (up a whopping 79.7 per cent), SsangYong (69.6 per cent), and Porsche (43.6 per cent).

Tesla sold 2196 vehicles and the Model Y was far and away the biggest-selling medium SUV priced north of $60,000, while BYD posted its first VFACTS sales result after its sales pause due to an ADR compliance failure – claiming an impressive 845 Atto 3s found homes.

It’s not yet clear if BYD’s result is one month of sales, or whether it includes all sales since the brand hit Australia in September. We’ve reached out to distributor EVDirect to clarify.

Brands other than Mitsubishi (down 2.8 per cent) and Hyundai (down 19.5 per cent) that finished in the negative included Volkswagen (1.7 per cent), Nissan (51.1 per cent), BMW (26.7 per cent), Honda (23.6 per cent), Renault (41.1 per cent), Lexus (9.7 per cent), and Jeep (27.8 per cent).

Models

In the battle of the best-sellers, the Toyota HiLux edged the Ford Ranger thanks to its 4×2 cab chassis dominance, although Ford won the lucrative 4×4 sales race.

The Toyota Corolla had a bumper month with the update now in dealers, ahead of the MG ZS and Toyota RAV4. Rounding out the top 10 were the Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sportage, Tesla Model Y, and Hyundai Tucson.

The top 10 therefore comprised six medium SUVs, two utes, one small SUV, and one small hatch/sedan.

1. Toyota HiLux – 5440 sales
2. Ford Ranger – 5073 sales
3. Toyota Corolla – 3732 sales
4. MG ZS – 3051 sales
5. Toyota RAV4 – 2282 sales
6. Mazda CX-5 – 1949 sales
7. Mitsubishi Outlander – 1875 sales
8. Kia Sportage – 1844 sales
9. Tesla Model Y – 1805 sales
10. Hyundai Tucson – 1734 sales
11. MG 3 – 1453 sales
12. Isuzu D-Max – 1580 sales
13. Mitsubishi Triton – 1498 sales
14. Toyota LandCruiser Wagon – 1477 sales
15. Hyundai i30 – 1355
16. Ford Everest – 1312 sales
17. Isuzu MU-X – 1218 sales
18. Subaru Forester – 1215 sales
19. Mazda CX-3 – 1207 sales
20. Mazda BT-50 – 1096 sales

Segments

• Micro Cars: Kia Picanto (573), Fiat 500 (6), Mitsubishi Mirage (4)
• Light Cars under $25,000: MG 3 (1453), Mazda 2 (728), Suzuki Swift (429)
• Light Cars over $25,000: Mini Hatch (87), Audi A1 (30), Citroen C3 (5)
• Small Cars under $40,000: Toyota Corolla (3732), Hyundai i30 (1355), Mazda 3 (664)
• Small Cars over $40,000: Audi A3 (207), Mercedes-Benz A-Class (178), BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe (73)
• Medium Cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (531), Mazda 6 (185), Skoda Octavia (93)
• Medium Cars over $60,000: Tesla Model 3 (391), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (284), BMW 3 Series (245)
• Large Cars under $70,000: Kia Stinger (107), Skoda Superb (25), Citroen C5 X (15)
• Large Cars over $70,000: BMW 5 Series (37), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (32), Audi A6 (25)
• Upper Large Cars: BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe (13), Porsche Panamera (6), Mercedes-Benz S-Class (5)
• People Movers: Kia Carnival (462), Hyundai Staria (212), Mercedes-Benz V-Class (44)
• Sports Cars under $80,000: Ford Mustang (207), BMW 2 Series (167), Subaru BRZ (118)
• Sports Cars over $80,000: BMW 4 Series (63), Porsche Cayman (42), Mercedes-Benz C-Class/Toyota Supra (245)
• Sports Cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (21), Lamborghini (13), Ferrari (11)

• Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (1207), Toyota Yaris Cross (735), Suzuki Jimny (595)
• Small SUVs under $40,000: MG ZS (3051), Mitsubishi ASX (1037), Subaru XV (895)
• Small SUVs over $40,000: Audi Q3 (697), Volvo XC40 (348), Volvo C40 (243)
• Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (2282), Mazda CX-5 (1949), Kia Sportage (1875)
• Medium SUVs over $60,000: Tesla Model Y (1805), Lexus NX (362), Audi Q5 (321)
• Large SUVs under $70,000: Ford Everest (1312), Isuzu MU-X (1218), Toyota Prado (1063)
• Large SUVs over $70,000: Mercedes-Benz GLE (339), BMW X5 (281), Audi Q7 (178)
• Upper Large SUVs under $100,000: Toyota LandCruiser Wagon (1477), Nissan Patrol (268)
• Upper Large SUVs over $100,000: Mercedes-Benz GLS (69), Audi Q8 (32), Lexus LX (15)

• Light Vans: Peugeot Partner (37), Volkswagen Caddy (17), Renault Kangoo (5)
• Medium Vans: Toyota HiAce (730), LDV G10 (282), Hyundai Staria Load (134)
• Large Vans: LDV Deliver 9 (314), Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (311), Iveco Van (123)
• Light Buses: Toyota HiAce (185), LDV Deliver 9 (31), Toyota Coaster (30)
• 4×2 Utes: Toyota HiLux (1281), Ford Ranger (594), Mitsubishi Triton (242)
• 4×4 Utes: Ford Ranger (4479), Toyota HiLux (4159), Isuzu D-Max (1422)

Miscellaneous

Sales by region

• New South Wales: 29,545, up 7.5 per cent
• Victoria: 25,534, up 19.1 per cent
• Queensland: 20,621, up 28.9 per cent
• Western Australia: 9668, up 36.5 per cent
• South Australia: 5673, up 12.3 per cent
• Tasmania: 1783, up 23 per cent
• Australian Capital Territory: 1441, up 2.5 per cent
• Northern Territory: 815, up 14.1 per cent

Category breakdown

• SUV: 52,395 sales, 55.1 per cent market share
• Light commercials: 21,449 sales, 22.6 per cent market share
• Passenger cars: 16,692 sales, 17.6 per cent market share
• Heavy commercials: 4544 sales, 4.8 per cent market share

Top segments by market share

• Medium SUV: 21.3 per cent
• 4×4 Utes: 17.8 per cent
• Small SUV: 14.4 per cent
• Large SUV: 13.2 per cent
• Small Car: 8.3 per cent

Sales by buyer type

• Private buyers: 49,870, up 18.3 per cent
• Business fleets: 31,697, up 15.3 per cent
• Rental fleets: 6599, up 36.3 per cent
• Government fleets: 2370, up 2.3 per cent

Sales by propulsion or fuel type

• Petrol: 46,717
• Diesel: 30,404
• Hybrid: 8529
• Electric: 4457
• PHEV: 429
• Hydrogen FCEV: 0

Sales by country of origin

• Japan: 27,801
• Thailand: 21,388
• China: 14,438
• Korea: 12,335
• USA: 3207

Some previous monthly reports

Got any questions about car sales? Ask away in the comments and I’ll jump in!