VFACTS September 2024: Sales slump but hybrids, PHEVs continue to grow

Deliveries of new cars slumped in September in almost every Australian state and territory.

While sales data was a sea of red, with private, government, business and rental sales all down year on year, there were some bright spots.

Compared to September 2023, sales of hybrids were up 34.4 per cent, while plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) were up 89.9 per cent.

Electric vehicles (EVs), in contrast, were down 27.2 per cent, dragged down by a major slump in Tesla sales.

100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now.

“This trend in lower EV sales and increased hybrid and plug-in hybrids is reflected in markets across the world as production and purchase incentives are being wound back,” said Tony Weber, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

Overall, new vehicle sales were down 9.7 per cent to 99,881 sales year on year once Tesla and Polestar sales figures – which aren’t reported by the FCAI, but instead by the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) – are included.

The FCAI noted the Australian new car market posted record numbers in the early part of this year, but that the state of the economy was affecting tallies now.

Nevertheless, this strength earlier in the year has meant this is the first time the Australian new car market has logged over 900,000 sales by the end of the third quarter.

Brands

As usual, Toyota was the market leader in September 2024, though its sales were down 13.4 per cent on September 2023.

It’s continuing to be hurt by the absence of the Prado, with the current model sold out and deliveries of the new-generation model yet to commence, and even a huge bump in RAV4 sales (up 85.2 per cent year over year) couldn’t offset this loss.

Ford, Mazda, Kia and Mitsubishi all saw increased sales in September, the latter achieving the biggest jump with a gain of 6.4 per cent.

The top 10 was rounded out by Hyundai (5633 sales, down 9.4 per cent), Isuzu (3929 sales, down 0.1 per cent), MG (3841 sales, down 28.9 per cent), GWM (3802 sales, up 31.2 per cent) and Subaru (3169 sales, down 26.3 per cent).

GWM is breathing down MG’s neck, with the former’s percentage increase almost identical to the latter’s percentage decrease.

In addition to MG and Subaru, numerous other brands posted double-digit declines.

These included Nissan (3067 sales, down 35.9 per cent), Tesla (2649 sales, down 48.8 per cent) and LDV (1104 sales, down 33.7 per cent).

It wasn’t a great month to be a Volkswagen Group or Stellantis brand.

Of the Volkswagen Group stable, the namesake Volkswagen brand recorded 3071 sales, a drop of 26.6 per cent compared to September 2023, while Audi was down 42.9 per cent to 928 sales, Skoda by 59.8 per cent to 307 sales, and Cupra by 50.7 per cent to 207 sales.

Stellantis had some major declines, too. Its best-selling brand in Australia was Ram, which was down 57.8 per cent to 276 sales.

It edged out Jeep (221 sales, down 35.5 per cent), Peugeot (108 sales, down 44.9 per cent), and Maserati (24 sales, down 51 per cent). A jump in Ducato sales boosted Fiat’s fortunes though, rising 110.3 per cent to 406 sales.

Models

The Toyota RAV4 was comfortably Australia’s best-selling vehicle last month.

The Ford Ranger continued to beat out the Toyota HiLux for the title of Australia’s best-selling ute, helped by much stronger 4×4 sales; when it comes to 4×2 utes, the Toyota maintains its lead.

Ford’s Everest appears to be benefiting by the absence of the Toyota Prado, sitting in fourth place overall.

Other notable performances include the Kia Cerato, which beat out every small car including the dominant Toyota Corolla, and the BYD Sealion 6 which narrowly missed out on a top 20 finish.

Segments

• Micro cars: Kia Picanto (617), Fiat 500 (47)
• Light cars under $30,000: MG 3 (958), Mazda 2 (526), Suzuki Swift (458)
• Light cars over $30,000: Volkswagen Polo (251), Mini Cooper (141), Hyundai i20 (34)
• Small cars under $40,000: Kia Cerato (1588), Toyota Corolla (1454), Hyundai i30 (967)
• Small cars over $40,000: MG 4 (385), Volkswagen Golf (279), Subaru WRX (194)
• Medium cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (734), BYD Seal (275), Mazda 6 (93)
• Medium cars over $60,000: Tesla Model 3 (1151), BMW 3 Series (196), BMW i4 (138)
• Large cars under $70,000: Skoda Superb (5)
• Large cars over $70,000: BMW 5 Series (59), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (48), Porsche Taycan (39)
• Upper large cars: Mercedes-Benz EQS (11), Mercedes-Benz S-Class (8), BMW 7 Series (5), Porsche Panamera (5)
• People movers under $70,000: Kia Carnival (1038), Hyundai Staria (101), LDV MIFA (43)
• People movers over $70,000: Volkswagen Multivan (50), Mercedes-Benz V-Class (24), Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer (16)
• Sports cars under $80,000: Ford Mustang (240), Mazda MX-5 (82), Subaru BRZ (62)
• Sports cars over $80,000: BMW 2 Series two-door range (142), BMW 4 Series two-door range (75), Porsche Cayman (46)
• Sports cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (80), Ferrari two-door range (18), Lamborghini two-door range (16)

• Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (1982), Toyota Yaris Cross (958), Suzuki Jimny (834)
• Small SUVs under $45,000: MG ZS (1707), Hyundai Kona (1260), Mazda CX-30 (1196)
• Small SUVs over $45,000: BMW X1 (509), Mercedes-Benz GLA (434), Mini Countryman (344)
• Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (5182), Mitsubishi Outlander (2508), Kia Sportage (2055)
• Medium SUVs over $60,000: Tesla Model Y (1498), Lexus NX (499), Mazda CX-60 (393)
• Large SUVs under $80,000: Ford Everest (2902), Isuzu MU-X (1317), Toyota Kluger (886)
• Large SUVs over $80,000: Defender (309), BMW X5 (303), Lexus RX (158)
• Upper large SUVs under $120,000: Toyota LandCruiser (1093), Nissan Patrol (584), Kia EV9 (59)
• Upper large SUVs over $120,000: Lexus GX (156), BMW X7 (92), Mercedes-Benz GLS (51)

• Small vans: Volkswagen Caddy (55), Renault Kangoo (36), Peugeot Partner (27)
• Medium vans: Toyota HiAce (966), Hyundai Staria Load (274), Ford Transit Custom (272)
• 4×2 utes: Toyota HiLux (768), Isuzu D-Max (504), Ford Ranger (298)
• 4×4 utes: Ford Ranger (4187), Toyota HiLux (3545), Isuzu D-Max (2108)
• Large pickups: Ram 1500 (241), Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (199), Ford F-150 (191)

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.