VFACTS August 2024: Record RAV4 sales drive hybrid surge as EVs stumble

The Toyota RAV4 was Australia’s best-selling vehicle in August 2024, as hybrid sales continue to grow.

A total of 100,786 vehicles were delivered during August 2024 according to VFACTS sales data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), supplemented with Tesla and Polestar results reported by the Electric Vehicle Council.

This represents a drop of 8.3 per cent compared with August 2023, which was the biggest August on record in terms of new car deliveries; August 2024 sits in second spot.

With 836,065 new vehicles delivered so far this year, the market overall is up just over 6 per cent on 2023, which eventually set an industry record.

The Toyota RAV4 not only outsold every other vehicle in Australia in August, it even outsold the entire Hyundai and Mitsubishi lineups.

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This single model line even outsold Nissan and Subaru’s entire lineups combined.

The RAV4’s sales success helped fuel a 44.9 per cent increase in hybrid sales in Australia compared with August 2023.

Of all the propulsion types, only plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) saw a greater increase at 119.8 per cent year over year, though this was from a lower base.

In contrast, deliveries of electric vehicles (EVs) were down 18.5 per cent year over year, thanks in part to another monthly decline for Tesla.

“Once again, the new car market is showing signs of resilience as cost-of-living pressures and interest rates continue to impact the economy,” said FCAI chief executive Tony Weber.

Brands

Toyota was, as always, the leader and by a considerable margin, though August sales were down 3.7 per cent on the same month last year.

Much of the blame for that is due to the absence of the Prado, with stock of the old model exhausted.

While Mazda was in the second spot in July, Ford pushed past it in August. The Blue Oval’s sales were up 12.6 per cent over last August to 8890 sales, fuelled by strong delivery tallies for the Everest.

While much lower in volume, the F-150 notably pushed past the rival Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 for the top spot in its segment.

Mazda got the bronze, with sales down 2.3 per cent on August last year to 8263 sales as CX-8 and CX-9 stock dried up.

Kia continues to sit above sibling brand Hyundai, with the Koreans taking the fourth and fifth positions. Kia was up 6.0 per cent to 6903 sales, while Hyundai was down 4.6 per cent to 6211 sales.

The top 10 was rounded out by Mitsubishi (5516 sales, up 11.2 per cent), Isuzu Ute (3924, down 16.7 per cent), MG (3561 sales, down 33.7 per cent), Nissan (3376 sales, down 20.2 per cent) and GWM (3148 sales, up 9.4 per cent).

Outside of the top 10, brands largely recorded either double-digit increases or double-digit decreases… and there was a lot more of the latter.

It was a bad month to be a Stellantis brand, except for Fiat which managed a 17.9 per cent year-over-year increase thanks to stronger sales of its Ducato van.

Compared with August 2023, Alfa Romeo was down 47.5 per cent, Citroen was down 44.8 per cent, Jeep was down 40.4 per cent, Maserati was down 45.3 per cent, Peugeot was down 43.3 per cent, and Ram was down 47.1 per cent.

Brands that enjoyed a good month included BYD (up 151.7 per cent), Suzuki (up 38.1 per cent), Chery (up 43.2 per cent), Porsche (up 40.9 per cent) and Chevrolet (up 24.2 per cent).

Jaguar also continues to rally, just as it’s about to lose its entire current lineup and become a more exclusive brand. Its sales were up 76.6 per cent, albeit from a low base.

Models

The Toyota RAV4 topped the charts, and could well finish in the top spot for the entire calendar year at this rate.

Segments

The following are the segment leaders for the month of August 2024.

• Micro cars: Kia Picanto (522), Fiat 500 (43)
• Light cars under $30,000: MG 3 (923), Suzuki Swift (548), Mazda 2 (492)
• Light cars over $30,000: Volkswagen Polo (159), Mini Cooper (59), Skoda Fabia (32)
• Small cars under $40,000: Toyota Corolla (1855), Kia Cerato (1406), Hyundai i30 (1098)
• Small cars over $40,000: MG 4 (309), Volkswagen Golf (251), Subaru WRX (192)
• Medium cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (933), BYD Seal (371), Mazda 6 (89)
• Medium cars over $60,000: Tesla Model 3 (1063), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (175), BMW 3 Series (142)
• Large cars under $70,000: Skoda Superb (11), Citroen C5 X (5)
• Large cars over $70,000: Mercedes-Benz E-Class (51), BMW 5 Series (41), Mercedes-Benz EQE (30)
• Upper large cars: Porsche Panamera (5), Mercedes-Benz S-Class (2), BMW 7 Series (2), Lotus Emeya (2)
• People movers under $70,000: Kia Carnival (990), Hyundai Staria (116), LDV MIFA (35)
• People movers over $70,000: Volkswagen Multivan (41), Mercedes-Benz V-Class (29), Lexus LM (13), Toyota Granvia (13)
• Sports cars under $80,000: Ford Mustang (296), Mazda MX-5 (81), Subaru BRZ (67)
• Sports cars over $80,000: BMW 2 Series two-door (92), Mercedes-Benz CLE (78), BMW 4 Series two-door (51)
• Sports cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (75), Ferrari two-door range (15), Lamborghini two-door range (14)

• Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (1675), Toyota Yaris Cross (1006), Suzuki Jimny (923)
• Small SUVs under $45,000: Hyundai Kona (1674), MG ZS (1576), Mazda CX-30 (1148)
• Small SUVs over $45,000: Mercedes-Benz GLA (402), Volvo XC40 (319), Audi Q3 (261)
• Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (6712), Mitsubishi Outlander (2188), Kia Sportage (2051)
• Medium SUVs over $60,000: Tesla Model Y (1330), Lexus NX (520), Mazda CX-60 (442)
• Large SUVs under $80,000: Ford Everest (2273), Isuzu MU-X (1376), Toyota Kluger (1103)
• Large SUVs over $80,000: Defender (301), BMW X5 (159), Range Rover Sport (159)
• Upper large SUVs under $120,000: Toyota LandCruiser (1442), Nissan Patrol (705), Discovery (38)
• Upper large SUVs over $120,000: Lexus GX (102), Range Rover (70), Mercedes-Benz GLS (65)

• Small vans: Volkswagen Caddy (69), Peugeot Partner (39), Renault Kangoo (18)
• Medium vans: Toyota HiAce (1042), Hyundai Staria Load (311), Ford Transit Custom (304)
• 4×2 utes: Toyota HiLux (645), Isuzu D-Max (607), Ford Ranger (289)
• 4×4 utes: Ford Ranger (5142), Toyota HiLux (3851), Isuzu D-Max (1941)
• Large pickups: Ford F-150 (311), Ram 1500 (232), Chevrolet SIlverado 1500 (211)

Sales by category

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Top segments by market share

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by region

Excludes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by buyer type

Excludes Tesla, Polestar and heavy commercial sales.

Sales by fuel or propulsion type

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by country of origin

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

MORE: VFACTS July 2024: Hybrids star, EVs stall in another record month MORE: VFACTS June 2024: Soft finish for record half-year MORE: VFACTS May 2024: Hybrid and EV sales drive another record month MORE: VFACTS April 2024: Record month, hybrids and plug-in hybrids surge MORE: VFACTS March 2024: Big month leads to record quarterly result MORE: VFACTS February 2024: Another record month for Australian new car sales MORE: VFACTS January 2024: Record start to the year but slower times ahead