Australian new vehicle sales continued on their record-setting pace in October, but the big news was the return of an old favourite to the top of the individual leaderboard — the Toyota HiLux.
According to industry database VFACTS, Australian dealers sold 94,321 cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles last month, up 3.4 per cent and making it the second biggest October on record after 2012.
Annual sales have also grown to 957,152 units, which is 3.6 per cent higher than at the same time in 2014. This puts the market on track to eclipse the previous full-year sales record of 1.136 million sales set in 2013.
The star of the show was the new Toyota HiLux, which launched locally at the very end of September. It immediately reasserted its position as Australia’s top-selling vehicle with 3339 deliveries, most of which were of the new version.
Toyota’s executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said 4×4 HiLux variants had achieved their best October sales on record with overall HiLux demand trending even higher than the company had expected.
“Toyota dealers took more than 4000 new HiLux orders during the month… our dealers are already writing orders for delivery into 2016,” he said.
The Toyota staple was one of only two light commercial vehicles inside the top-10-selling vehicles list alongside the Ford Ranger in fourth with 2597. But remarkably, the HiLux was one of four Toyota vehicles in the same top 10 list.
The full top-10 was full of usual favourites albeit in different orders. Following the HiLux (3339) were the Toyota Corolla (3271); Hyundai i30 (2669); Ranger (2597); Mazda 3 (2582); Holden Commodore (2243); Toyota Camry (2141); Mazda CX-5 (2037); Volkswagen Golf (1733) and Toyota RAV4 (1685).
That said, if Hyundai Australia were able to call the Elantra the i30 sedan as per its wont, it would have had the nation’s top-selling car again. The i30 and Elantra’s combined sales were 3425.
The top 10 brands were: Toyota (16,964, down 2.4 per cent); Hyundai (9003, up 7.2 per cent); Mazda (8532, up 24 per cent); Holden (8088, up 7.2 per cent); Ford (6098, down 3.8 per cent); Nissan (5961, up 3.5 per cent); Mitsubishi (5508, up 7.7 per cent); Volkswagen (4480, down 6 per cent); Subaru (4112, up 2.7 per cent) and Honda (3261, up 24.2 per cent).
Volkswagen’s fall into the negative column is interesting, given that company’s solid sales march up the ladder over the past few years. Naturally, that company has been caught up in its share of controversy lately.
Hot on the heels of these were Kia (2867, up 35.7 per cent); Mercedes-Benz (2619, down 16.9 per cent); Audi (2030, up 25.9 per cent); BMW (2001, up 4.9 per cent) and Isuzu Ute (1760, up 40.5 per cent).
So, what are some of the elements that stood out?
Several lower-selling brands showed good growth in October. These included Jaguar (161, up 51.9 per cent); Land Rover (1072, up 24.4 per cent); LDV (105, up 43.8 per cent); Mini (263, up 20.6 per cent); Porsche (361, up 77.8 per cent); Skoda (412, up 16.4 per cent); Suzuki (1510, up 8.7 per cent) and Volvo Car (469, up 103.9 per cent).
Likewise, a few went in the other direction. Alfa Romeo (114, down 12.3 per cent); Chrysler (73, down 37.1 per cent); Citroen (69, down 43 per cent); Dodge (63, down 61.6 per cent); Fiat (195, down 57.6 per cent); Jeep (1505, down 42.7 per cent); Peugeot (332, down 17 per cent); Proton (35, down 47.8 per cent); Renault (798, down 26.2 per cent) and Ssangyong (77, down 20.6 per cent) all lost ground.
The gap between passenger vehicles and SUVs — a blurred line anyway — continued to shrink. Passenger car sales totalled 40,856 (down 5.3 per cent) against SUVs on 34,744 (up 20.5 per cent). Light commercials tallied 16,028 (down 1.9 per cent) and heavy commercials made up the numbers on 2693 (down 8.3 per cent).
Private sales dropped everywhere but in SUVs (up 17.9 per cent), but business sales and rental sales grew across the board. Sales of all manner of vehicle types to government departments were down.
Small passenger cars remained the biggest segment despite a 10.2 per cent drop to 18,582 units. The next biggest segments were Medium SUV (12,843, up 20.1 per cent); Large SUV (11,190, up 11.8 per cent); 4×4 Ute (10,949 up 0.7 per cent) and Small SUV (9723, up a massive 37 per cent and eating into the small passenger market’s share).
Other fast-growing segments were people-movers (up 35.3 per cent) and mid-sized cars (up 8.3 per cent). Other segments that dropped were sports cars (down 23.6 per cent); light vans (down 41.9 per cent) and medium vans (down 14.8 per cent).
For a full segment-by-segment breakdown head to the bottom of the story.
Reflecting what we have seen all year, registrations in WA (8534, the fourth-biggest state) and NT (785, the smallest market) went backwards, by 10.5 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. All other states/territories grew, comprising NSW (31,196); Victoria (26,503); Queensland (18,246); South Australia (5825); Tasmania (1719) and ACT (1513).
As usual, our top source of vehicles was Japan with 27,507 imports (up 2.6 per cent), followed by Thailand (21,211, up 17.4 per cent); South Korea (12,214, up 16.7 per cent); Australia (7150, down 6.9 per cent); Germany (6836, down 3.6 per cent) and the US (4137, down 22.6 per cent).
A few interesting tidbits:
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles staple brands Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat and Jeep all fell double-digits.
It was not a good month to be French. Citroen (69, down 43 per cent), Peugeot (332, down 17 per cent) and Renault (798, down 26.2 per cent) all went the wrong way.
Mercedes-Benz went backwards (down 16.9 per cent) for the first time in a long while.
Huge discounts from Volvo saw its sales more than double to 469.
The Audi Q5 still dominated the SUV Medium > $60K segment, with 407 sales, despite the stop-sale of diesel versions
A handful of vehicles recorded the dubious distinction of just one monthly sale, being the (soon-to-be-updated) Citroen DS3; axed Fiat Panda; axed Great Wall V200 4×2; Infiniti Q60; the Lamborghini brand; Lotus Elise; a Nissan Dualis that the company must have found hidden in the holding yard; and Volkswagen Passenger Caddy.
Top 10 brands October 2015:
Toyota — 16,964 (down 2.4 per cent)
Hyundai — 9003 (up 7.2 per cent)
Mazda — 8532 (up 24 per cent)
Holden — 8088 (up 7.2 per cent)
Ford — 6098 (down 3.8 per cent)
Nissan — 5961 (up 3.5 per cent)
Mitsubishi — 5508 (up 7.7 per cent)
Volkswagen — 4480 (down 6 per cent)
Subaru — 4112 (up 2.7 per cent)
Honda — 3261 (up 24.2 per cent)
Top 10 models October 2015:
Toyota HiLux — 3339
Toyota Corolla — 3271
Hyundai i30 — 2669
Ford Ranger — 2597
Mazda 3 — 2582
Holden Commodore — 2243
Toyota Camry — 2141
Mazda CX-5 — 2037
Volkswagen Golf — 1733
Toyota RAV4 — 1685
Segment-by-segment breakdown:
Micro (957, down 2.4 per cent):
Mitsubishi Mirage (409)
Holden Barina Spark (256)
Fiat 500 (119)
Light under $25K (8156, down 2.3 per cent):
Hyundai Accent (1548)
Toyota Yaris (1145)
Mazda 2 (905)
Light over $25K (380, down 0.8 per cent):
Mini (208)
Audi A1 (106)
Peugeot 208 (55)
Small under $40K (17,160, down 10.2 per cent
Toyota Corolla (3271)
Hyundai i30 (2669)
Mazda 3 (2582)
Small over $40K (1422, up 2.1 per cent):
Audi A3 (464)
Mercedes-Benz A-Class (226)
BMW 1 Series (207)
Medium under $60K (4317, up 11.5 per cent):
Toyota Camry (2141)
Subaru Liberty (372)
Mazda 6 (334)
Medium over $60K (2360, up 2.9 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz C-Class (727)
BMW 3 Series (391)
Audi A4 (347)
Large under $70K (3033, down 2.2 per cent):
Holden Commodore (2243)
Ford Falcon (435)
Toyota Aurion (268)
Large over $70K (284, down 29.4 per cent):
BMW 5 Series (89)
Mercedes-Benz E-Class (85)
Mercedes-Benz CLS (24)
Upper Large under $100K (179, down 9.1 per cent):
Holden Caprice (106)
Chrysler 300 (73)
Upper Large above $100K (71, up 7.6 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz S-Class (39)
Maserati Quattroporte (8)
Porsche Panamera (6)
People-movers under $60K (908, up 38.8 per cent):
Kia Carnival (311)
Hyundai iMax (205)
Honda Odyssey (162)
People-movers over $60K (42, up 12.5 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz Valente (23)
Mercedes-Benz V-Class (19)
Sports under $80K (1050, down 26.2 per cent):
Toyota 86 (231)
Hyundai Veloster (155)
BMW 2 Series (109)
Sports over $80K (430, down 22.5 per cent):
BMW 4 Series (124)
Mercedes-Benz E-Class (65)
Audi TT (61)
Sports over $200K (107, up 8.1 per cent).:
BMW 6 Series (21)
Porsche 911 (16)
Aston Martin (15)
SUV Small under $40K (8678, up 36.2 per cent):
Mazda CX-3 (1440)
Hyundai ix35 (1179)
Mitsubishi ASX (1088)
SUV Small over $40K (1045, up 43.5 per cent):
Lexus NX (328)
Audi Q3 (294)
Mercedes-Benz GLA (224)
SUV Medium under $60K (11,344, up 19.9 per cent):
Mazda CX-5 (2037)
Toyota RAV4 (1685)
Nissan X-Trail (1612)
SUV Medium over $60K (1499, up 22.1 per cent):
Audi Q5 (407, despite diesel stop-sale)
Land Rover Discovery Sport (271)
BMW X3/Porsche Macan (214 each)
SUV Large under $70K (9292, up 10.2 per cent)H
Toyota Prado (1184)
Subaru Outback (1007)
Holden Captiva 7 (984)
SUV Large over $70K (1898, up 20.5 per cent).
BMW X5 (320)
Range Rover Sport (283)
Land Rover Discovery (255)
SUV Upper Large under $100K (867, down 7.5 per cent):
Toyota LandCruiser (715)
Nissan Patrol (152)
SUV Upper Large over $100K (121, up 16.3 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class (60)
Range Rover (30)
Lexus LX (18)
Light Vans (190, down 41.9 per cent):
Renault Kangoo (91)
Suzuki APV (39)
Volkswagen Caddy (29)
Medium Vans (1349, down 14.8 per cent):
Toyota HiAce (644)
Hyundai iLoad (382)
Renault Trafic (68)
4×2 utes (3291, up 1.2 per cent):
Toyota HiLux (738)
Ford Ranger (514)
Mitsubishi Triton (355)
4×4 utes (10,949, up 0.7 per cent):
Toyota HiLux (2601)
Ford Ranger (2083)
Mitsubishi Triton (1197)
Source: 
VFACTS new car sales October 2015 : Toyota HiLux back on top
