VFACTS: Australia's 2021 new car sales detailed in full

New vehicle sales in Australia climbed 14.5 per cent in 2021 over 2020, despite ongoing supply shortages leading to wait times and limited opportunities for discounts.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) today said 1,049,831 new vehicles were counted as sold for the calendar year, up from 916,968 during the interrupted 2020.

In brief:

• HiLux edges Ranger into top spot
• Toyota top, Mazda second, Hyundai edges out Ford for third
• MG ninth, Great Wall 14th as Brand China grows at pace
• Private sales growing, business fleets far less so
• Electric vehicles up almost 200 per cent

Brands

Toyota was the top-selling brand for the 25th straight year, and the HiLux was the nation’s top-selling vehicle for the sixth year in a row. Toyota also made the top-selling passenger vehicle (Corolla) and SUV (RAV4) in market.

Toyota has been market leader in 1991-94, 1998, 2000 and every year since 2003. It has also been the leader in commercial vehicles since 1979 – an unbroken run of 43 years.

In fact, Toyota products topped nine different market segments (Small Car, Medium Car, Medium SUV, Large SUV, Upper Large SUV, Light Buses, Medium Buses, Vans 2.5-3.5t, and 4×4 Utes), further showing its dominance.

Second was Mazda, up 18.1 per cent with 101,119 sales, making it the only other OEM to hit above 100,000 annual sales.

Hyundai snared third with 72,872, just edging Ford (71,380) into fourth. The two brands grew respectively by 12.4 and 19.8 per cent. Rounding out the top five was Kia on 67,964, up 21.2 per cent – meaning the number-two Korean brand got pretty close to knocking off its Hyundai sibling.

Positions six to 10 on the list were occupied by Mitsubishi (67,730, up 16.1 per cent), Nissan (41,263, up 7.7 per cent), Volkswagen (40,770, up 3.8 per cent), MG (39,025, up 155.9 per cent, becoming the first Chinese brand to make the top 10), and Subaru (37,015, up 17.5 per cent).

Knocking on the door were Isuzu Ute (35,735 sales, up 61.6 per cent), luxury leader Mercedes-Benz (33,034 sales, down 8.8 per cent including both passenger and commercials), BMW (24,891, up 5.8 per cent), Great Wall Motor – GWM and Haval – (18,384 sales, up a staggering 251.2 per cent from a low base), and Honda (17,562, down 39.5 per cent in a poor return).

Smaller-volume car makers that grew at a greater rate than the overall market included LDV (up 62.9 per cent), Skoda (up 39.0 per cent), Volvo (up 17.2 per cent), Jeep (up 35.0 per cent), Ram Trucks (up 21.2 per cent), SsangYong (up 70.1 per cent), Peugeot (up 31.8 per cent), and Genesis (up 220.5 per cent).

Models

Nipping at the HiLux’s heels for top spot was the Ford Ranger, in the outgoing model’s final sales year head of the new model due during 2022. The Ford’s 4×4 sales also topped the HiLux 4×4’s haul (45,986 versus 39,587).

Third overall was the Toyota RAV4, about three-quarters of which were hybrids. Even with current wait lists averaging 11-12 months, sales are simply not abating.

Next spots were occupied by two small cars: the Toyota Corolla and its Hyundai i30 nemesis.

Here’s a list of the top 20:

Segments

We can also identify the most popular models in each vehicle segment.

• Micro Cars: Kia Picanto (6591), Mitsubishi Mirage (2198), Fiat 500 (739)
• Light Cars under $25,000: MG 3 (13,774), Kia Rio (5644), Volkswagen Polo (5125)
• Light Cars over $25,000: Mini Hatch (1866), Audi A1 (680), Citroen C3 (88)
• Small Cars under $40,000: Toyota Corolla (28,768), Hyundai i30 (25,575), Kia Cerato (18,114)
• Small Cars over $40,000: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (3793), BMW 1 Series (2741), BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe (2072)
• Medium Cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (13,081), Mazda 6 (1491), Skoda Octavia (1279)
• Medium Cars over $60,000: BMW 3 Series (3982), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (2832), Mercedes-Benz CLA (1299)
• Large Cars under $70,000: Kia Stinger (1407), Skoda Superb (597)
• Large Cars over $70,000: Mercedes-Benz E-Class (910), BMW 5 Series (605), Porsche Taycan (531)
• Upper Large Cars: Mercedes-Benz S-Class (263), Chrysler 300 (170), BMW 7 Series (81)
• People Movers: Kia Carnival (5862), Honda Odyssey (1143), LDV G10 (1064)
• Sports Cars under $80,000: Ford Mustang (2827), Mazda MX-5 (744), BMW 2 Series (454)
• Sports Cars over $80,000: Mercedes-Benz C-Class (1131), BMW 4 Series (1107), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (337)
• Sports Cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (428), Ferrari range (194), Bentley Continental (100)

• Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (12,873), Toyota Yaris Cross (7828), Kia Stonic (7645)
• Small SUVs under $40,000: MG ZS (18,423), Mitsubishi ASX (14,764), Mazda CX-30 (13,309)
• Small SUVs over $40,000: Audi Q3 (5707), Volvo XC40 (3687), BMW X1 (2986)
• Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (35,751), Mazda CX-5 (24,968), Mitsubishi Outlander (14,572)
• Medium SUVs over $60,000: BMW X3 (4242), Volvo XC60 (3688), Audi Q5 (3604)
• Large SUVs under $70,000: Toyota Prado (21,299), Isuzu MU-X (10,618),Subaru Outback (10,490)
• Large SUVs over $70,000: Mercedes-Benz GLE (3591), BMW X5 (3173), Lexus RX (1908)
• Upper Large SUVs under $100,000: Toyota LandCruiser Wagon (14,356), Nissan Patrol (3333)
• Upper Large SUVs over $100,000: Mercedes-Benz GLS (1110), BMW X7 (791), Mercedes-Benz G-Class (594)

• Light Vans: Renault Kangoo (732), Volkswagen Caddy (691), Peugeot Partner (259)
• Medium Vans: Toyota HiAce (9726), LDV G10 (3306), Ford Transit Custom (2488)
• Large Vans: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (2997), LDV Deliver 9 (1840), Fiat Ducato (1277)
• Light Buses: Toyota HiAce (2427), Toyota Coaster (250), Ford Transit (168)
• 4×2 Utes: Toyota HiLux (13,214), Isuzu D-Max (6478), Ford Ranger (4293)
• 4×4 Utes: Ford Ranger (45,986), Toyota HiLux (39,587), Isuzu D-Max (18,639)

Quotes

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said that in the context of pandemic restrictions
limiting access to dealerships and international supply issues due to semiconductor shortages, the new vehicle market in Australia “remains positive”.

“Despite the pandemic restricting access to showrooms in 2021, Australian consumers found ways to purchase new vehicles and did so in solid numbers,” Mr Weber said.

“The global shortage of microprocessors, compounded by the pandemic, had an impact on the number of cars sold throughout Australia. Automotive manufacturers are continuing to work to strengthen supply chains in 2022.”

That said, market leader Toyota confirmed today that it wouldn’t see freer supply until the second quarter of the calendar year.

Miscellaneous

Sales by region

• NSW: 328,185, up 8.6 per cent
• Victoria: 272,733, up 20.4 per cent
• Queensland: 229,775, up 17.4 per cent
• WA: 106,134, up 18.7 per cent
• SA: 68,605, up 14.2 per cent
• Tasmania: 18,564, up 18.4 per cent
• ACT: 16,002, down 18.7 per cent
• NT: 9833, Up 27.2 per cent

Category breakdown

• SUV: 531,700 sales, 50.6 per cent market share
• Light commercials: 253,254 sales, 24.1 per cent market share
• Passenger cars: 221,556 sales, 21.1 per cent market share
• Heavy commercials: 43,231 sales, 4.1 per cent market share

Top segments by market share

• 4×4 Utes: 18.1 per cent
• Medium SUV: 17.2 per cent
• Small SUV: 13.7 per cent
• Large SUV: 12.7 per cent
• Small Car: 10.4 per cent

Sales by buyer type

• Private buyers: 539,242, up 21.0 per cent
• Business fleets: 378,506, up 1.9 per cent
• Rental fleets: 60,242, up 73.7 per cent
• Government fleets: 28,520, down 7.5 per cent

Sales by propulsion or fuel type

• Petrol: 580,495, up 9.7 per cent
• Diesel: 346,990, up 19.2 per cent
• Hybrid: 70,466, up 20.3 per cent
• EV minus Tesla*: 5149, up 191.1 per cent
• PHEV: 3372, up 99.4 per cent
• Hydrogen FCEV: 38, zero the previous year

Sales by country of origin

• Japan: 350,934 units, up 13.4 per cent
• Thailand: 230,520 units, up 8.0 per cent
• Korea: 145,025 units, up 17.2 per cent
• China: 76,262 units, up 148.2 per cent
• Germany: 43,143, down 26.3 per cent

Previous monthly reports

• November 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• October 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• September 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• August 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• July 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• June 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• May 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• April 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• March 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• February 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• January 2021 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• December 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• November 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• October 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• September 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• August 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• July 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• June 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• May 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• April 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)
• March 2020 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)

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