Motoring

Australia's top-selling cars, utes, SUVs and EVs for 2023

Ford Ranger, Australia's Best Selling Vehicle in 2023

Andrea Matthews

Posted January 09, 2024

2023 was the best ever year for vehicle sales in Australia, with a total of 1,216,780 vehicles delivered, beating the previous sales record of 1,189,116 set in 2017.  Electric vehicle sales more than doubled, while combined sales of dual cab utes and SUVs represented 78.4 per cent of the market.

For the first time in 28 years, a Ford topped the sales chart with the locally-designed Ford Ranger ending the Toyota Hilux's seven-year winning streak, to be the best-selling car in Australia with deliveries of 63,356 vehicles compared to 61,111.

According to the annual VFACTS data collated by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, almost one in five vehicles sold (17.7 per cent), wore the Toyota logo, with the RAV4 medium SUV (29,627) and Landcruiser (26,449) joining the Hilux in the top ten for the year.

It wasn't all good news for Toyota however, whose dominance in the market was reduced last year from its 2022 market share of 21.2 per cent to 17.7 per cent.

Mazda increased its sales to 100,008, making it the second best-selling marque in Australia, but saw a slight reduction in its market share from 8.9 per cent to 8.2 per cent. It's perennial performer, the Mazda CX-5 was the ninth best-selling vehicle (23,083) and fourth best-selling medium SUV.

Sales grow in 2023 for Ford, MG, Tesla, Subaru and Isuzu Ute

Top ten brands seeing sales growth in 2023 included Ford, which increased its sales volume by 33 per cent to 87,800 units, driven almost exclusively by its strong sales of Ranger and its Ranger-based SUV, the Everest. It was Australia's third best-selling brand with an increased market share of 7.2 per cent (up from 6.2 per cent).

Sister brands, Kia (76,120) and Hyundai (75,183) placed fourth and fifth in market respectively, with a slight decrease in sales for Kia (-2210) and slight increase for Hyundai (1838).

Mitsubishi (63,511) fell from fifth place to sixth place in the market, it's market share reduced from 7.1 per cent to 5.2 per cent, a definite reflection of the decline in sales of the Mitsubishi Triton (-10,795) ahead of the introduction of the next-gen Triton next month.

MG increased its sales by 17.7 per cent, thanks to the popularity of its affordable ZS SUV which at 29,258 sales was the country's fifth best-selling vehicle and second best-selling SUV behind the Toyota RAV4. Sales were also given a boost by the arrival of the impressive MG4 EV which chalked up 3134 sales in its first year on sale.

Tesla posted impressive growth in Australia on the back of a two model line up, with total sales up 135.4 per cent to 46,116 units. The Tesla Model Y (28,769) was Australia's sixth best-selling car, while the Model 3 (17,347) increased sales by 59.5 per cent to become the country's best-selling medium car with 50 per cent of the segment.

Australian market stalwart, Subaru saw 28 per cent growth in its sales, its 46,114 sales made up largely of its range of small and medium SUVs including the newly introduced Crosstrek, and placing it in 9th place.

Rounding out the top ten brands in Australia was Isuzu Ute, which achieved total sales of 45,341, up 28.4 per cent for sales of its two models, the Isuzu Ute D-Max and Isuzu MU-X.

Top 10 selling car brands – 2023

  1. Toyota – 215,240 
  2. Mazda – 100,008 
  3. Ford – 87,800
  4. Kia – 76,120 
  5. Hyundai – 75,183 
  6. Mitsubishi – 63,511 
  7. MG – 58,346 
  8. Tesla – 46,116 
  9. Subaru – 46,114
  10. Isuzu Ute – 45,341
2023 Tesla Model Y

The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling electric vehicle in Australia in 2023. Image: Supplied

Toyota RAV4 is the top-selling SUV for 2023

 The Toyota RAV4 continued its sales dominance from 2022, but its lead was diminished, as it topped the next best selling SUV, the MG ZS by just 369 units.
 
Seven of the top ten best-selling cars for 2023 were SUVs, which now represent 55.8 per cent of vehicle sales in Australia, up by 104,830 sales from last year. Medium SUVs remain the most popular segment for drivers with five out of the top ten selling vehicles in this category.

Best-selling small, medium and large SUVs in Australia in 2023

  •  SUV Small < $45K: MG ZS, Mazda CX-30, GWM Haval Jolion
  • SUV Small > $45K: Volvo XC40, BMW X1, Audi Q3  
  • SUV Medium < $60K: Toyota RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mazda CX-5
  • SUV Medium > $60K: Tesla Model Y, Lexus NX, Audi Q5
  • SUV Large < $70K: Toyota Prado, Ford Everest, Isuzu Ute MU-X
  • SUV Large > $70K: Land Rover Defender, BMW X5, Lexus RX
2023 Toyota RAV4

The Toyota RAV4 was the best-selling SUV in Australia in 2023. Image: Supplied

Ford Ranger is the top-selling ute in Australia for 2023

The seven year sales reign of the Toyota Hilux was ended in 2023 as the Ford Ranger became the country's top selling Ute and vehicle.
 
The three best selling vehicles in the country were utes. Ford Ranger sold 63.356 units followed by the Toyota Hilux at 61,111 and Isuzu Ute D-Max with 31,202 sales. Demonstrating the increased popularity and flexibility of 4x4 dual cab utes, 4x4 models outsold two wheel drive models by more than 6:1 in 2023.

 Best-selling 4x2 and 4x4 utes in Australia in 2023

  • 4x2 utes: Toyota HiLux, Isuzu Ute D-Max, Ford Ranger
  • 4x4 utes: Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, Isuzu Ute D-Max

2022 Ford Ranger Raptor first looks | RACV

How many EVs were sold in Australia in 2023?

2023 was the biggest year on record for electric vehicles with 87,217 fully electric vehicles sold, representing 7.2 per cent of all sales. Combined with plug-in hybrids and hybrids, the electric segment accounted for 16.2 per cent of new vehicles sold.

Showing exceptional growth, Tesla's EV only line up of the Model 3 and Model Y made up 52.8 per cent of all fully electric sales.

Relative newcomer BYD quickly established itself as a serious player in Australia's EV market with combined sales of its Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal models reaching 12,438 units - growth of 488.6 per cent. Last year BYD overtook Tesla to become the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer.

Find out more about: EVs coming to Australia in 2024

Where are Australia’s best-selling cars, utes and SUVs being made?

Toyota’s continued dominance of the Australian market has kept Japan at the top of the list with 345,071 vehicles sourced from Japan, the total including vehicles from Mazda, Mitsubishi and Subaru.

Most of Australia’s dual cab utes including the best selling Ford Ranger, are imported from Thailand which sent 264,253 vehicles to our shores last year to place second.

Making the biggest impact in the market were the Chinese manufacturers, who topped sales of Korean sourced vehicles for the first time in 2023, placing them third. 193,433 Chinese made vehicles were sold last year, an increase of 57.5 per cent on 2022 to make up 15.9 per cent of all cars sold here.

Australia's best-selling cars by country of origin

  1. Japan – 345,071 
  2. Thailand – 262,253 
  3. China – 193,433 
  4. Korea – 161,614 
  5. Germany – 56,850

 

Cleaner Energy with EVs | RACV

Top 10 selling car models in 2023

  1. Ford Ranger – 63,356
  2. Toyota Hilux – 61,111
  3. Isuzu Ute D-Max – 31,202
  4. Toyota RAV4 – 29,627
  5. MG ZS – 29,258
  6. Tesla Model Y – 28,769
  7. Toyota Landcruiser – 26,449
  8. Mitsubishi Outlander – 24,263
  9. Mazda CX-5 – 23,083
  10. Hyundai Tucson – 21,224

Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries VFACTS report, December 2023

 

The information provided is general advice only. Before making any decisions please consider your own circumstances and the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determinations. For copies, visit racv.com.au. As distributor, RACV Insurance Services Pty Ltd AFS Licence No. 230039 receives commission for each policy sold or renewed. Product(s) issued by Insurance Manufacturers of Australia ABN 93 004 208 084 AFS Licence No. 227678.