Australian new car sales: Winners and losers so far in 2023

The Australian new vehicle market has rebounded over the first half of 2023, showing 8.2 per cent growth over the same period in 2022. It’s the strongest H1 result since 2018.

Some of the interesting developments, as the tables below will show, include:

Number-one brand Toyota down 24 per cent in volume due to poor supply, causing its market share to tumble to 15.9 share points – well below its 20 share point benchmark. Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger remain the top two models, with the Isuzu D-Max in fourth. Number three vehicle YTD is the Tesla Model Y. Western Australia and Queensland are the two fastest-growing regions on a percentage basis. More than 43,000 electric vehicles sold, for a record 7.4 per cent market share. It was just 1.8 per cent at this point last year! EVs outsold hybrids (38,313), largely due to Toyota’s lack of supply on RAV4, Camry and others.Chinese cars up 93.1 per cent to 95,852 units, led by the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, plus domestic brands MG, GWM, LDV and BYD.

First half of each year sales:

H1 of 2023: 581,759 unitsH1 of 2022: 537,858 unitsH1 of 2021: 567,468 unitsH1 of 2020: 442,415 unitsH1 of 2019: 554,466 unitsH1 of 2018: 605,522 unitsH1 of 2017: 599,552 unitsH1 of 2016: 598,140 unitsH1 of 2015: 578,427 unitsH1 of 2014: 559,950 units

Brands

Toyota is well ahead of Mazda in first but will need to get a wriggle on over the second half it it wants to pass 200,000 units – as its internal targets demand.

Kia (third) remains ahead of big brother Hyundai (fifth), with Ford sitting in between.

Mitsubishi is battling to get supply and its core Triton is nearing replacement, so its 26 per cent decline makes some sense. But still a poor result.

MG and Tesla demonstrate the changing dynamic, both making the top 10, ahead of Subaru and Volkswagen. GWM (including Haval) is getting closer…

VW, benefitting from better European supply than in previous years, is managing to grow its sales by 61 per cent from a low base.

There are some new entrants that have joined the market since this point in 2022, including BYD, Chery and Cupra.

List of sales by brand over H1 of 2023:

BRANDYTD SALESCHANGE OVER H1 2022Toyota92,235Down 24%Mazda50,424Up 1%Kia39,160Down 0.7%Ford38,182Up 33.7%Hyundai37,707Down 1.2%Mitsubishi30,849Down 26.1%MG26,692Up 8.9%Tesla25,577Up 449.7%Subaru22,502Up 32.4%Volkswagen20,970Up 60.6%Isuzu Ute20,357Up 8.3%GWM17,548Up 105.1%Nissan17,278Up 13.3%Mercedes-Benz Cars12,671Down 12.3%BMW12,502Up 5.1%LDV11,250Up 56.8%Audi9336Up 48%Suzuki8814Down 21.6%Lexus6910Up 75.5%Honda6758Down 11.3%Volvo Car6290Up 9%BYD6196New to marketRenault4425Down 12.7%Ram4156Up 61.6%Skoda3967Up 20.7%Land Rover3714Up 42.8%SsangYong3319Up 130%Porsche3231Up 2.2%Jeep2669Down 22.3%Mercedes-Benz Vans2418Up 23.7%Mini2136Up 30.5%Chevrolet1713Up 70.8%Chery1612New to marketCupra1586New to marketPeugeot1186Up 17.3%Polestar1147Up 104.1%Genesis871Up 88.1%Fiat Professional595Up 77.1%Fiat413Up 39.1%Maserati319Up 1.9%Alfa Romeo267Down 9.5%Jaguar238Down 42.4%Citroen116Down 32.6%Bentley110Down 7.6%Ferrari105Down 0.9%Aston Martin87Up 27.9%Lamborghini71Up 61.4%Lotus52Down 16.1%McLaren46Up 64.3%Rolls-Royce21Down 36.4%

Models

The list of top 25-selling models looks different this year, although the top two (HiLux and Ranger) are familiar leaders.

The Tesla Model Y (third) and Model 3 (eighth) both top their segments regardless of fuel type, the Isuzu MU-X is the new top-selling large SUV (ahead of the Toyota Prado), the new BYD Atto 3 EV already sits in 22nd place, and the Kia Carnival pushed the Mazda 3 outside the top 25.

Toyota HiLux: 28,093Ford Ranger: 26,741Tesla Model Y: 14,002Isuzu D-Max: 13,243MG ZS: 13,579Toyota RAV4: 13,523Mazda CX-5: 11,607Tesla Model 3: 11,575Mitsubishi Outlander: 11,342Hyundai i30: 11,214Hyundai Tucson: 10,749Mazda BT-50: 9605Mitsubishi Triton: 8725MG 3: 8449Subaru Forester: 8321Mazda CX-3: 8030Toyota Corolla: 7206Isuzu MU-X: 7114Toyota Prado: 7044Kia Sportage: 6584Toyota Landcruiser Wagon: 6541BYD Atto 3: 6196Mazda CX-30: 6098Subaru Outback: 6056Kia Carnival: 5745

Leaders in key markets

Light Cars: MG 3 (8449), Suzuki Swift (3308), Kia Picanto (3271)Small Cars: Hyundai i30 (11,214), Toyota Corolla (7206), Mazda 3 (4842)Medium cars: Tesla Model 3 (11,575), Toyota Camry (3658), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (1840)Sports cars: Ford Mustang (1232), Subaru BRZ (838), BMW 2 Series (485)Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (8030), Kia Stonic (3953), Hyundai Venue (3266)Small SUVs: MG ZS (13,579), Mazda CX-30 (6098), Haval Jolion (5523)Medium SUVs: Tesla Model Y (14,002), Toyota RAV4 (13,523), Mazda CX-5 (11,607)Large SUVs: Isuzu MU-X (7114), Toyota Prado (7004), Subaru Outback (6056)4×4 Utes: Ford Ranger (23,620), Toyota HiLux (21,808), Isuzu D-Max (10,787)

Miscellaneous YTD

Sales by region

New South Wales: 177,889, up 4.7 per centVictoria: 153,714, up 8.3 per centQueensland: 127,960, up 11.3 per centWestern Australia: 60,924, up 14.8 per centSouth Australia: 37,676, up 7.2 per centTasmania: 9,435, down 0.5 per centAustralian Capital Territory: 9,054, up 11.2 per centNorthern Territory: 5,107, down 1.7 per cent

Category breakdown

SUV: 55.4 per cent shareLight commercials: 22.2 per cent sharePassenger cars: 17.9 per cent shareHeavy commercials: 4.6 per cent share

Top segments by market share

Medium SUV: 22.4 per cent share4×4 Utes: 16.3 per cent shareSmall SUV: 13.7 per cent shareLarge SUV: 12.5 per cent shareSmall Car: 6.3 per cent share

Sales by buyer type

Private buyers: 303,519, up 4.8 per centBusiness fleets: 204,998, up 13.3 per centRental fleets: 31,421, up 2.1 per centGovernment fleets: 15,227, up 6.6 per cent

Sales by propulsion or fuel type

Petrol: 294,289, up 6.6 per centDiesel: 175,939, down 5.3 per centElectric: 43,092, up 345.2 per centHybrid: 38,313, down 6.7 per centPHEV: 3532, up 20.1 per centHydrogen FCEV: 0

Sales by country of origin

Japan: 154,647, down 10.3 per centThailand: 122,300, down 2.7 per centChina: 95,852, up 93.1 per centKorea: 82,998, up 2.3 per centGermany: 26,055, up 28.0 per cent

Some previous monthly reports

June 2023 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)May 2023 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)April 2023 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)March 2023 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)Feb 2023 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)Jan 2023 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)Full year 2022 Australian new vehicle sales (VFACTS)

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