Market Insight: 2023 marks faster sales shift

BY MATT BROGAN | 8th Jan 2024


AUSTRALIA broke a new cars sales record in 2023 with more than 1.2 million units delivered, convincingly higher than the previous record of 1,189,116 units set in 2017.

 

It is an unprecedented milestone that demonstrates not only an increasing appetite for new and more efficient vehicles, but also larger vehicles, with SUV and LCV sales at an all-time high.

 

While the shifting trend towards higher-riding vehicles comes as no surprise to industry analysts, it is one that is increasingly tempered by a return to the traditional sedan format, led largely by popular battery electric models such as the Tesla Model 3, Polestar 2 and more recently the BYD Seal.

 

Whether it is availability, range benefits or some other factor, battery electric vehicle (BEV) buyers seem to prefer a three-box body style over that of an equivalent SUV almost without exception – the runaway success of Tesla’s Model Y appearing to be the only standout.

 

Battery electric vehicles accounted for 7.2 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia throughout 2023 with combined BEV, plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and hybrid (HEV) vehicles achieving 196,868 sales, or 16.2 per cent of the new vehicle sales mix.

 

Overall, there were 98,439 HEV, 87,217 BEV, and 11,212 PHEV units sold versus traditional internal combustion powered vehicles running on petrol (588,622 units) and diesel (379,512 units).

 

Indeed, there are several trends emerging in the new car market that are tipped to carry through the new year, and possibly beyond.

 

Micro and light passenger car sales are virtually dead in the water while the small passenger car segment holds its own.

 

Sales of medium passenger car sales are slowing, except perhaps for the supply constrained Toyota Camry, while large passenger car sales are a shadow of what they were just a decade ago.

 

Total passenger car sales for 2023 tallied just 211,361 – the lowest number outside of the heavy commercial vehicle category.

 

Look toward the SUV market and it is evident there are gains across the board. Six of the top 10 best-selling models for 2023 were SUVs, with four of those from the medium SUV segment (Kia Sportage, MG ZS, Mitsubishi Outlander, and Toyota RAV4).

 

In all, SUV sales tallied higher than any other category with 679,462 deliveries across the calendar year.

 

Of course, the light commercial category continues its unabated success, with the top three sellers of 2023 being utes.

 

The Ford Ranger beat the previous best-selling Toyota HiLux to take the title of Australia’s best-selling new vehicle in 2023, amassing an impressive 63,356 unit sales – or 23.1 per cent of the overall category (274,185).

 

Isuzu’s D-Max came a distant third with more than 31,000 sold – just over half the HiLux’s tally – in a demonstration of how dominant the Ranger and HiLux have become.

 

Australia is also changing its trajectory in terms of vehicle sourcing. Chinese imports are growing rapidly (up 57.5 per cent to 193,433 units), now the third most-popular source of origin behind Japan (345,071) and Thailand (264,253).

 

Despite the changes, Australian buyers continue to favour trusted brands over more recent arrivals with Toyota maintaining its position at the top of the new car sales ladder again in 2023.

 

Toyota (with 215,240 unit sales) led Mazda (100,008 units) and Ford (87,800 units) to be the only importer to exceed 200,000 vehicle sales for 19 of the past 20 years.

 

A strong year of government and rental fleet purchases is a further key contributor to the overall sales mix in 2023 with increases across Passenger, SUV and Light Commercial segments.

 

Private vehicle sales were down on average across Passenger and SUV categories, but up considerably in the Light Commercial sector.

 

Below, we look at some of the most important trends developing across the Australian new cars sales market.

 

Sales figures for the top five most popular vehicles are listed in terms of their unit sales with year-on-year variances detailed aside. We will also look at segment and sourcing changes to see how these have shifted over the past 12 months.

 

 

Overall

 

2023 best-selling make (overall):

 

Toyota

215,240

-6.8%

Mazda

100,008

+4.5%

Ford

87,800

+31.8%

Kia

76,120

-2.8%

Hyundai

75,183

+2.5%

 

2023 best-selling model (overall):

 

Ford Ranger

63,356

+33.4%

Toyota HiLux

61,111

-5.1%

Isuzu D-Max

31,202

+28.2%

Toyota RAV4

29,627

-15.0%

MG ZS

29,258

+30.2%

 

Passenger

 

2023 best-selling Micro passenger car (overall):

 

Kia Picanto

7706

+48.3%

Fiat 500 / Abarth

755

+111.5%

Mitsubishi Mirage

1

-99.9%

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

 

2023 best-selling Light passenger car under $30K (overall):

 

MG 3

15,430

-4.6%

Suzuki Swift

6914

+57.0%

Mazda 2

5181

+0.7%

Kia Rio

4067

-11.1%

Toyota Yaris

2098

-29.6%

 

2023 best-selling Light passenger car over $30K (overall):

 

Mini Hatch

2011

+21.8%

Audi A1

462

+18.5%

Skoda Fabia

433

+56.9%

Citroen C3

69

-10.4%

N/A

 

 

 

2023 best-selling Small passenger car under $40K (overall):

 

Hyundai i30

20,626

-2.6%

Toyota Corolla

19,986

-21.0%

Mazda 3

9079

-5.8%

Kia Cerato

5795

-53.1%

MG 5

2398

N/A

 

2023 best-selling Small passenger car over $40K (overall):

 

Volkswagen Golf

3592

+11.4%

Audi A3

3319

+57.3%

MG 4

3134

N/A

Subaru WRX

2743

+14.7%

Mercedes-Benz A-Class

2392

-15.8%

 

2023 best-selling Medium passenger car under $60K (overall):

 

Toyota Camry

10,581

+10.9%

Mazda 6

1528

+1.1%

Skoda Octavia

1395

+44.9%

Volkswagen Passat

677

-10.8%

BYD Seal

471

N/A

 

2023 best-selling Medium passenger car over $60K (overall):

 

Tesla Model 3

17,347

+59.5%

BMW 3 Series

3147

+11.7%

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2625

-26.4%

Polestar 2

2463

+61.6%

Lexus ES

1727

+107.8%

 

2023 best-selling Large passenger car under $70K (overall):

 

Kia Stinger

1806

-19.4%

Skoda Superb

278

-57.6%

Citroen C5 X

68

+11.5%

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

 

2023 best-selling Large passenger car over $70K (overall):

 

Porsche Taycan

535

+24.4%

BMW 5 Series

507

+10.9%

Mercedes-Benz EQE

437

N/A

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

421

+21.3%

Audi e-tron GT

339

N/A

 

2023 best-selling Upper Large passenger car under $100K (overall):

 

Chrysler 300

7

-91.1%

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

 

2023 best-selling Upper Large passenger car over $100K (overall):

 

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

108

-35.3%

BMW 7 Series

84

+27.3%

Porsche Panamera

70

+16.7%

Mercedes-Benz EQS

67

-4.3%

BMW i7

63

+384.6%

 

2023 best-selling People Movers under $70K (overall):

 

Kia Carnival

11,312

+40.5%

Hyundai Staria

1141

-33.7%

Volkswagen Multivan

711

+51.6%

LDV Mifa

452

N/A

Volkswagen Caddy

72

+9.1%

 

2023 best-selling People Movers over $70K (overall):

 

Mercedes-Benz V-Class

377

-33.9%

Mercedes-Benz Vito

127

+67.1%

Toyota Granvia

112

-28.2%

Volkswagen California

108

+25.6%

Lexus LM

41

N/A

 

Sports

 

2023 best-selling Sports car under $80K (overall):

 

Subaru BRZ

1573

+35.0%

Ford Mustang

1475

-21.8%

BMW 2 Series

1164

+73.7%

Toyota GR86

1144

+439.6%

Mazda MX-5

653

+31.9%

 

2023 best-selling Sports car over $80K (overall):

 

BMW 4 Series

858

-14.3%

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

808

+42.5%

Chevrolet Corvette

338

+50.2%

Porsche Cayman

282

+77.4%

Toyota Supra

276

+95.7%

 

2023 best-selling Sports car over $200K (overall):

 

Porsche 911

558

+2.0%

Ferrari (cumulative)

215

+5.9%

Lamborghini (cumulative)

159

+84.9%

Bentley (cumulative)

105

+28.0%

McLaren (cumulative)

85

+39.3%

 

SUV

 

2023 best-selling SUV Light (overall):

 

Mazda CX-3

15,776

+32.5%

Kia Stonic

6983

-18.4%

Toyota Yaris Cross

6514

-22.7%

Hyundai Venue

6152

-4.5%

Volkswagen T-Cross

5762

+12.0%

 

2023 best-selling SUV Small under $45K (overall):

 

MG ZS

29,258

+30.2%

Mazda CX-30

13,115

-5.6%

GWM Haval Jolion

11,252

+36.9%

Hyundai Kona

11,183

-3.1%

Kia Seltos

10,473

+23.2%

 

2023 best-selling SUV Small over $45K (overall):

 

Volvo XC40

5837

+14.0%

BMW X1

4644

+91.5%

Audi Q3

4457

-11.7%

Lexus UX

2468

+110.8%

Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class

1881

-38.5%

 

2023 best-selling SUV Medium under $60K (overall):

 

Toyota RAV4

29,627

-15.0%

Mitsubishi Outlander

24,263

+24.1%

Mazda CX-5

23,083

-14.7%

Hyundai Tucson

21,224

+18.8%

Subaru Forester

16,381

+54.0%

 

2023 best-selling SUV Medium over $60K (overall):

 

Tesla Model Y

28,679

+230.0%

Lexus NX

6875

+104.5%

Audi Q5

4210

+31.2%

BMW X3

4002

-12.0%

Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class

3631

-16.0%

 

2023 best-selling SUV Large under $70K (overall):

 

Toyota LandCruiser Prado

20,710

-1.9%

Ford Everest

15,071

+46.1%

Isuzu MU-X

14,139

+28.7%

Subaru Outback

12,903

+32.5%

Toyota Kluger

10,430

-17.0%

 

2023 best-selling SUV Large over $70K (overall):

 

Land Rover Defender

3846

+137.0%

BMW X5

3682

+18.4%

Lexus RX

2743

+102.9%

Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class

2535

-18.0%

Range Rover Sport

2224

+144.9%

 

2023 best-selling SUV Upper Large under $120K (overall):

 

Toyota LandCruiser

15,035

+14.3%

Nissan Patrol

7812

+36.5%

Land Rover Discovery

533

+319.7%

Kia EV9

208

N/A

N/A

 

 

 

2023 best-selling SUV Upper Large over $120K (overall):

 

BMW X7

1012

+20.5%

Lexus LX

982

+241.0%

Range Rover

713

+436.1%

Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class

648

-19.3%

Mercedes-Benz G-Class

394

-7.7%

 

Light Commercial

 

2023 best-selling Light Bus (overall, combined):

 

Toyota HiAce Commuter

2366

-8.8%

Toyota Coaster

337

+8.4%

LDV Deliver 9 Bus

284

+32.1%

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

4

-91.1%

Iveco Minibus

2

-89.5%

 

2023 best-selling Van under 2.5t (overall):

 

Volkswagen Caddy

628

+11.2%

Peugeot Partner

552

+92.3%

Renault Kangoo

18

-96.5%

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

 

2023 best-selling Van 2.5-3.5t (overall):

 

Toyota HiAce

7133

-18.5%

LDV G10

3638

+15.2%

Ford Transit Custom

2843

+66.4%

Hyundai Staria Load

2497

-24.1%

Renault Trafic

1296

-10.6%

 

2023 best-selling Pick-Up/Cab-Chassis 4x2 (overall):

 

Toyota HiLux

12,116

-29.0%

Isuzu D-Max

5759

+36.7%

Ford Ranger

5095

+17.1%

Mazda BT-50

3483

+44.9%

Mitsubishi Triton

2909

-16.5%

 

2023 best-selling Pick-Up/Cab-Chassis 4x4 (overall):

 

Ford Ranger

58,261

+35.1%

Toyota HiLux

48,995

+3.5%

Isuzu D-Max

25,443

+26.4%

Mazda BT-50

14,043

+33.3%

Mitsubishi Triton

13,732

-42.7%

 

2023 best-selling Pick-Up/Cab-Chassis over $100K (overall):

 

Ram 1500

5922

+8.0%

Chevrolet Silverado

2260

+24.0%

Chevrolet Silverado HD

1105

+95.2%

Ram 2500

824

+34.2%

Ford F-150

145

N/A

 

Country of origin

 

2023 most popular country of origin:

 

Japan

345,071

+4.5%

Thailand

264,253

+7.6%

China

193,433

+57.5%

South Korea

161,614

+1.5%

Germany

56,850

+35.6%

 

Fuel type

 

2023 most popular fuel type:

 

Petrol

588,622

+6.7%

Diesel

379,512

+5.0%

Hybrid

98,439

+20.3%

Battery Electric

87,217

+161.1%

Plug-in Hybrid

11,212

+88.8%

 

Region

 

2023 most popular sales by region:

 

New South Wales

374,432

+10.8%

Victoria

327,229

+13.9%

Queensland

261,532

+11.0%

Western Australia

124,630

+17.7%

South Australia

79,009

+13.9%

Tasmania

21,150

+10.4%

Australian Capital Territory

18,531

+14.2%

Northern Territory

10,267

+4.2%

 

*All data supplied courtesy of the FCAI.

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