Motoring

Toyota HiLux pips Ford Ranger to top November 2022 new car sales

Toyota HiLux

David Toscano

Posted December 20, 2022

New car sales in Australia ticked up again in November, largely thanks to an improved supply of inventory for Australian car dealerships. 

Light commercial vehicles and SUVs dominated new car sales in November 2022 with the Toyota HiLux leapfrogging October’s sales champion, the Ford Ranger, to the top of the monthly sales chart according to the latest Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ VFACTS report.

The 95,080 new vehicles that were sold in November presented a 17.9 per cent gain from the same month in 2021, with sales up across all Australian states and territories.

Western Australia led sales growth across the country, up 36.5 per cent year on year, followed by Tasmania (23 per cent) and Victoria (19 per cent).

“The automotive sector is continuing to recover from pandemic related shutdowns, a global shortage of microprocessors and the general supply chain uncertainty we experienced over the last two years,” FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said.

MG ZS SUV.

MG sales surged in November thanks to the ZS SUV.

 

SUVs and Utes dominate new car sales

Light commercial vehicles and SUVs made up nine of the top 10 selling vehicles in November underlining Australians’ overwhelming preference for these two body styles.

Perennial market leader Toyota sold more than 20,000 cars in November, almost two times its nearest competitor, Mazda (7,549). More than one in five new cars sold in November wore a Toyota badge thanks to strong sales of Corolla hatch and sedan (3,732), RAV4 SUV (2,282), Prado SUV (1,045), Landcruiser Wagon (1,477) and the brand’s new Corolla Cross compact SUV (789), in addition to the market-leading HiLux ute (5,440).

Ford rounded out the podium with 5,073 sales, up 15.3 per cent over the same month last year, thanks almost entirely to Ford Ranger, which accounted for more than 70 per cent of the brand’s sales. The new Ranger-based Everest SUV realised 1,312 sales, contributing to almost 20 per cent of Ford sales.

Kia (6,120) had another bumper month, with sales surging 24.5 per cent year on year off the back of strong growth from its range of medium and large SUVs: Sportage (1,844) and Sorento (1,063). Kia’s sales growth was enough to send the brand past sister brand Hyundai by more than 600 vehicles.

Other mainstream brands to win big in November included MG (up 46 per cent thanks to surging sales of its ZS SUV), Subaru (up 36.5 per cent with Forester SUV sales more than doubling compared to November 2021) and GWM Haval (up 47.8 per cent).

November was a mixed month for premium brands. Audi (up 28.2 per cent), Alfa Romeo (up 22 per cent), Mercedes-Benz (up 5.9 per cent), Porsche (up 43.6 per cent) and Volvo (up 59.4 per cent) were among the European brands to grow sales compared to the same month last year. However, November wasn’t so kind for BMW (down 26.7 per cent), Land Rover (down 5.5 per cent), Lexus (down 9.7 per cent) and MINI (down 41.1 per cent).

 

Discover how to change an electric vehicle at home or on the road

Electric vehicle sales momentum continues

Interest in electric vehicles and their unique features and characteristics is steadily growing in Australia. 4,457 electric vehicles were recorded sold in November, against 8,529 hybrids and just 429 plug-in hybrid vehicles. The Tesla Model Y SUV again placed in the top 10 selling cars for the month, continuing its surging sales momentum from October. 

Tesla’s dominance of EV sales in Australia continued in November with 2,196 cars sold, enough to capture more than 2 per cent of the overall new car market, while new entrant BYD sold 845 units of its all-electric Atto 3 compact SUV in its first full month on sale.

Volvo’s sister brand Polestar sold 240 units of the Polestar 2 liftback sedan, while supply constraints continue to put a handbrake on Kia EV6 (19) and Hyundai IONIQ 5 sales (84).

New car sales leaders in Australia

New car sales leaders in Australia

November 2022

Top selling new cars

  1. Toyota HiLux (5,440)
  2. Ford Ranger (5,073)
  3. Toyota Corolla (3,732)
  4. MG ZS (3,051)
  5. Toyota RAV4 (2,282)
  6. Mazda CX-5 (1,949)
  7. Mitsubishi Outlander (1,875)
  8. Kia Sportage (1,844)
  9. Tesla Model Y (1,805)
  10. Hyundai Tucson (1,734)

Top selling car brands

  1. Toyota (20,107)
  2. Mazda (7,549)
  3. Ford (7,165)
  4. Kia (6,120)
  5. Mitsubishi (5,559)
  6. Hyundai (5,519)
  7. MG (5,479)
  8. Subaru (3,701)
  9. Volkswagen (3,045)
  10. GWM Haval (2,914)

 

 

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