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    Medium SUV sales growth tracked, top sellers over a decade

    Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 are the sales kings over the past decade, while the BMW X3 and X4 twins took the luxury title.

    Mike Costello

    Mike Costello

    Senior Contributor

    Mike Costello

    Mike Costello

    Senior Contributor

    Medium SUV sales and share in Australia almost doubled over the past decade, as buyers abandoned traditional passenger-car segments at a rate of knots.

    Australians took delivery of around 1.74 million new medium SUVs over the past 10 years, across the mainstream and luxury segments.

    Annualised mid-sized SUV sales spiked from 119,464 units in 2013 to a record 216,151 units in 2022, with each increase coming steadily despite two years of COVID-related stock shortages.

    This equates to growth in medium SUV market share from 10.5 per cent to 20.0 per cent – sufficient to make this the most popular of all vehicle segments last year, ahead of 4×4 utes.

    This near-doubling is explained by the fact the new car market has actually failed to grow over the past decade.

    Market-wide sales tallied in 2013 (1,136,227) were actually 4.8 per cent greater than what we saw moved across 2022 (1,081,429), the year in which medium SUVs set their high-water mark.

    As you’d expect, the dramatic increase in medium SUV uptake has attracted a raft of new nameplates over the past decade, adding competitiveness. However the majority of these new products sit within the high-margin luxury end of the market.

    Between 2013 and 2022, the number of individual medium SUV nameplates classified as mainstream (VFACTS calls them Medium SUV < $60,000) on sale only oscillated between 17 nameplates and 24 nameplates.

    Core vehicles in this segment include top-sellers such as the Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan X-Trail, and Volkswagen Tiguan – among myriad others.

    But over the same period, the number of luxury medium SUV nameplates (dubbed Medium SUV > $60,000 in VFACTS) over the same 10-year period spiked from just five offerings in 2013, to 20 offerings in 2022.

    Core vehicles in this segment include the Mercedes-Benz GLC, BMW X3, Audi Q5, Volvo XC60, and Lexus NX.

    We’ve also collated annual sales since 2013 to find out what the top-selling medium SUVs are. The results are, to be honest, not that surprising.

    Top 20 Medium SUVs 2013-22 – mainstream

    1. Toyota RAV4: 249,739
    2. Mazda CX-5: 242,952
    3. Nissan X-Trail: 156,106
    4. Mitsubishi Outlander: 138,185
    5. Hyundai Tucson: 134,715
    6. Subaru Forester: 127,504
    7. Kia Sportage: 108,691
    8. Honda CR-V: 102,742
    9. Volkswagen Tiguan: 82,857
    10. Renault Koleos: 21,833
    11. MG HS: 20,485
    12. Ford Escape: 18,978
    13. Ford Kuga: 18,747
    14. Holden Captiva 5: 17,896
    15. Jeep Cherokee: 15,722
    16. Haval H6: 14,609
    17. Holden Equinox: 12,032
    18. Suzuki Grand Vitara: 11,174
    19. Peugeot 3008: 6181
    20. Skoda Karoq: 5531

    Top 20 Medium SUVs 2013-22 – luxury

    1. BMW X3/X4: 49,494
    2. Mercedes-Benz GLC/GLC Coupe: 40,213
    3. Audi Q5: 35,605
    4. Lexus NX: 27,759
    5. Volvo XC60: 25,246
    6. Range Rover Evoque: 19,470
    7. Land Rover Discovery Sport: 18,774
    8. Porsche Macan: 18,560
    9. Tesla Model Y: 8717
    10. Mercedes-Benz GLB: 6317

    Medium SUV sales and share 2013-22

    YearSalesShare %
    2022216,15120
    2021180,16517.2
    2020179,72219.6
    2019203,23319.1
    2018206,45017.9
    2017195,65516.5
    2016172,19414.6
    2015144,93712.5
    2014125,22211.2
    2013119,46410.5

    Medium SUV number of nameplates 2013-22

    YearMainstreamLuxury
    20222220
    20212016
    20202213
    20192414
    20182013
    20172112
    20162111
    2015189
    2014177
    2013205
    Mike Costello

    Mike Costello

    Senior Contributor

    Mike Costello

    Senior Contributor

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