New vehicle sales report – 2014

For just the third time in Australia’s history we bought over 1.1 million new vehicles in a calendar year. Despite this, all states—expect New South Wales—sold fewer vehicles compared with 2013 and total sales across the country dropped 2.0% to 1,111,224; down from last year’s record high sales mark of 1,136,227.

The irrepressible march of the SUV continues with almost half of all sales now being represented by the SUV/light commercial sector (550,303 sales). Deliveries of new passenger cars dropped to 531,596; down 34,808 sales compared with 2013. Heavy commercial vehicles remained consistent at 31,325 sales; a slight drop of 371 sales compared with the previous year.

Two small passenger cars did fight it out for the best selling model of the year, with the Toyota Corolla (43,735) hanging on to its number one status from 2013, narrowly edging out the Mazda3 (43,313).

Light commercials include models such as the Toyota HiLux (38,126), Ford Ranger (26,619) and the Mitsubishi Triton (24,256). All three were in the top 10 selling models of 2014. The best selling SUV was the Mazda CX-5 (21,571).

Reinforcing the demand for SUVs were models just outside the top 10, including the Toyota RAV4 (18,160 sales, +6.9%), the Jeep Grand Cherokee (16,582, +28.2%) and the Toyota Prado (16,112, +10.6%).

Meanwhile the Holden Cruze (18,554, -24.0%) and Nissan Navara (16,080, -33.3%) could not repeat their strong performances of 2013, dropping out of the top 10 in 2014. They were replaced by the Mazda CX-5 (+7.2%) and the Volkswagen Golf (19,178, +10.6%).

When looking at the top 10 selling brands for the year almost all registered a decline in sales compared with 2013; only Hyundai (+3.2%) and Subaru (+0.8%) managed minor increases.

Toyota (203,501, -5.2%) easily retained its best selling position in 2014, ahead of Holden (106,092, -5.3%) and Mazda (103,144, -2.4%).

Marques outside the top 10 performing well against their 2013 sales include Isuzu Ute (16,674, +63.3%), Fiat (5,758, +49.4%), Renault (10,014 +42.7%), and They-bought-a-Jeep (30,408 +37.2%).

German prestige brands also had a good time of it last year, increasing sales across the board. Porsche (2,812 +47.6%) saw the largest increase in percentage terms, followed by Audi (19,227, +20.1%), Mercedes (31,895, +15.8%) and BMW (22,722, +10.7%).

Business sales dropped 6.6% in 2014, while government (+3.4%) and rental (+2.3%) purchases increased. Private sales remained largely stagnant, registering a small increase of 0.5%.

2014 new car sales results

6 January 2015

The Australian new car market has topped 1.1 million for only the third year ever, with Australians buying 1,113,224 new cars in 2014.

The close race between last year’s top seller, the Toyota Corolla, and the Mazda3 came to an end with 422 more Australians taking home the Toyota Corolla. A total of 43,735 Toyota Corollas and 43,313 Mazda3s were sold in 2014.

Further highlighting the popularity of small cars, the Hyundai i30 also appeared in the top five—it was the nation’s fourth highest selling car. The Toyota Hilux was the third highest selling vehicle and the Holden Commodore was the fifth.

Releasing the 2014 full-year sales results, FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said SUV sales continued to boom in 2014, with the vehicle type now accounting for around 32 per cent of the market.

“The increase in SUV purchases is a reflection of the versatility these vehicles provide and the increasing range of these vehicles available in the market,” Mr Weber said.

“SUVs and light commercial vehicles now account for almost 50 per cent of new car sales in Australia. Passenger car sales have dropped 6.1 per cent to hold 47.8 per cent of the market.”

New South Wales was the only state to see growth in 2014, with sales up 1.5 per cent on 2013 figures. Sales fell 9.7 per cent in Tasmania, 8.1 per cent in Western Australia, 4.1 per cent in Queensland, 3.5 per cent in the Northern Territory, 3.3 per cent in the Australian Capital Territory, 1.5 per cent in Victoria and 1.2 per cent in South Australia.

Business sales were slow in 2014, with 6.6 per cent less vehicles sold to business than in 2013. Government purchases rose 3.4 per cent

Top 10 manufacturers in Australia (by sales) – 2014

Rank	Manufacturer	2014	2013	Change (%)
1	Toyota	203,501	214,630	-5.2
2	Holden	106,092	112,059	-5.3
3	Mazda	100,704	103,144	-2.4
4	Hyundai	100,011	97,006	+3.2
5	Ford	79,703	87,236	-8.6
6	Mitsubishi	68,637	71,528	-4.0
7	Nissan	66,025	76,733	-14.0
8	Volkswagen	54,801	54,892	-0.2
9	Subaru	40,502	40,200	+0.8
10	Honda	32,998	39,258	-15.9

Top 10 individual models in Australia (by sales) – 2014

Rank	Model	2014	2013	Change (%)
1	Toyota Corolla	43,735	43,498	+0.5
2	Mazda3	43,313	42,082	+2.9
3	Toyota HiLux	38,126	39,931	-4.5
4	Hyundai i30	31,505	30,582	+3.0
5	Holden Commodore	30,203	27,766	+8.8
6	Ford Ranger	26,619	21,752	+22.4
7	Mitsubishi Triton	24,256	24,512	-1.1
8	Toyota Camry	22,044	24,860	-11.3
9	Mazda CX-5	21,571	20,129	+7.2
10	Volkswagen Golf	19,178	17,342	+10.6

State/Territory results (by sales) – 2014

Rank	State/Territory	2014	2013	Change (%)
1	New South Wales	356,174	351,050	+1.5
2	Victoria	302,722	307,292	-1.5
3	Queensland	223,519	233,139	-4.1
4	Western Australia	115,343	125,544	-8.1
5	South Australia	69,625	70,491	-1.2
6	Tasmania	17,571	19,458	-9.7
7	Australian Capital Territory	17,277	17,860	-3.3
8	Northern Territory	10,993	11,393	-3.5
	Total	1,113,224	1,136,227	-2.0

New vehicle sales (by buyer type) – 2014

Buyer type	2014	2013	Change (%)
Passenger	531,596	566,404	-6.1
     Private	299,114	322,460	-7.2
     Business	174,431	184,313	-5.4
     Government	18,405	18,189	+1.2
     Rental	39,646	41,442	-4.3
SUV	352,347	333,561	+5.6
     Private	209,579	184,978	+13.3
     Business	119,487	129,609	-7.8
     Government	10,281	9,019	+14.0
     Rental	13,000	9,955	+30.6
Light commercial	197,956	204,566	-3.2
     Private	76,653	75,044	+2.1
     Business	104,414	112,567	-7.2
     Government	13,463	13,539	-0.6
     Rental	3,426	3,416	+0.3
Sub-total	1,081,899	1,104,531	-2.0
     Private	585,346	582,482	+0.5
     Business	398,332	426,489	-6.6
     Government	42,149	40,747	+3.4
     Rental	56,072	54,813	+2.3
Heavy commercial	31,325	31,696	-1.2
TOTAL	1,113,224	1,136,227	-2.0

(Source: VFACTS)