New vehicle sales in Australia hit record highs in November, while cumulative annual sales have now well-and-truly eclipsed the magic million mark.
VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber this morning shows that 98,639 new vehicles were sold in November, up 6.9 per cent and enough to break the previous record set in 2012.
The big month took year-to-date sales to 1.056 million units, up 3.9 per cent and the highest figure on record.
The trends of the past few months largely continued. SUVs continued to narrow the gap to passenger vehicles (market share 36.6 versus 42.3), while light commercial vehicles grew by double digits as a slew of new-generation ute offerings hit their stride.
Top brands
The undisputed star of the show was perennial market leader Toyota, which furthered its dominance with 15 per cent growth, to 18,402 vehicles and almost 19 per cent market share. It also had three of its models in the individual top five.
Joining it in the top five was a very strong Mazda with 9807 (up 21 per cent); Holden (8889, up 13.3 per cent on the back of strong factory deals); Hyundai (8416, down 2.1 per cent) and Nissan (7229, up a huge 39.5 per cent thanks to the NP300 Navara and X-Trail booming).
Positions 6-10 comprised: Ford (6332, up 8.4 per cent, the first positive result for the Blue Oval in ages); Mitsubishi (5169, down a resounding 26.9 per cent); Volkswagen (up 0.9 per cent to 4441); Subaru (3884, up 2.2 per cent) and Honda (3067, up 2.9 per cent).
Knocking on the door as always were Mercedes-Benz (3034, albeit down 10 per cent); Kia (3011, up a massive 35.9 per cent); BMW (2066, up 3.2 per cent); Audi (2018, up 21.9 per cent, remarkably considering numerous stop-sales on diesel cars) and Isuzu Ute (1831, up 32.4 per cent in another strong showing).
Top models
Sitting atop the individual model charts was the humble Toyota Corolla with 3430 units, up 5.1 per cent. It just pipped the new-generation Toyota HiLux (3369, of which 2531 were 4x4s); the Mazda 3 (3104, down 11.3 per cent); the Ford Ranger (3028, of which 2437 were 4x4s) and the Toyota Camry (3025, up a huge 52.7 per cent).
Positions 6-10 comprised: Holden Commodore (2614, up 18.8 per cent); Hyundai i30 (2499, down 13.4 per cent); Nissan Navara (2291, 1857 of which were 4x4s); Nissan X-Trail (2225, up a massive 92 per cent) and the Mazda CX-5 (2169, up 34.1 per cent).
Other winners and losers
A number of lower-selling marques had impressive sales growth in November.
Fiat Professional (up 120 per cent to 125); Infiniti (up 108 per cent to 75); Jaguar (up 101.3 per cent to 159); Land Rover (up 47.7 per cent to 1111); Skoda (up 12.8 per cent to 388) and, once again, Volvo Car (up 76.3 per cent to 520 thanks to big price cuts).
A few brands went in the other direction.
These included Alfa Romeo (down 48.6 per cent to 73); Citroen (down 26.1 per cent to 82); Fiat (down 31.9 per cent to 265); Foton Light (down 29.4 per cent to 72); Jeep (down 44.7 per cent to 1540); Peugeot (down 27 per cent to 251); Porsche (down 19.3 per cent to 242); Proton (down 35.7 per cent to 36) and Ssangyong (down 51.3 per cent to 57).
For those who will no doubt ask, Tesla does not share its sales data. But you can read our recent report on that
here.Segment trends
Of the 98,639 vehicles sold, 41,726 were passenger cars (down 3.1 per cent), while 36,070 were SUVs (up 16.2 per cent). Light commercials accounted for 17,990 (up 16 per cent) and heavy commercials managed 2853 (up 8.7 per cent).
The five most popular segments were: small cars (18.6 per cent market share); medium SUVs (13.9); large SUVs (12.7), 4×4 utes (12.3) and light cars (8.9).
It’s clear that passenger cars are dragging their heels. Micro cars (down 40 per cent to 618); light cars (down 6.2 per cent to 8735); small cars (down 9.1 per cent 18,346, still the biggest segment overall) and sports cars (down 7.8 per cent to 1806) were responsible.
That said, medium cars (up 12.6 per cent to 6916); large cars (up 13.1 per cent to 3883), upper large cars up 14.4 per cent to 230) and people-movers (up 50.9 per cent to 1192) actually saw good results.
All SUV segments grew. Small SUVs by 5.4 per cent to 8650; medium SUVs by 16.5 per cent to 13,710; large SUVs by 23 per cent to 12,491 and upper large SUVs by 33.7 per cent to 1219.
Light vans grew by 22.1 per cent to 265; mid-sized vans grew 1.6 per cent to 1327; 4×2 utes grew a massive 32.2 per cent to 3995 while 4×4 utes were up 13.7 per cent to 12,147.
Odds and ends
Private sales were up a strong 9.8 per cent to 49,880 units, which means the industry isn’t relying on fleets only.
Business fleet sales grew 4.6 per cent to 36,181, while government sales had an about-face and likewise grew, by 9.2 per cent to 3694. Rental sales were the only sector down, by 2.9 per cent to 6031.
Diesel passenger car sales continued to plummet, down 24.9 per cent to private buyers and 21.2 per cent to fleets. Just 1771 of the 41,726 passenger cars sold were diesel-fired (this is about 4.2 per cent).
Our most popular source for cars again was Japan, with 28,352 imports (up 4.4 per cent), followed by Thailand (22,749, up 20.8 per cent); Korea (12,717, up 17.2 per cent); Australia (8704, down 15.1 per cent) and Germany (6802, down 8.6 per cent).
Five talking points
Jeep continues to lose traction with Australian buyers in 2015, with sales down 44.7 per cent in November to 1540 — not all that far ahead of Land Rover (1111). Jeep is also down 16.1 per cent YTD.
None of the Volkswagen Group volume brands seem to be feeling the pinch in terms of overall sales, despite the diesel emissions cheating scandal that has shaken the company globally. Volkswagen (up 0.9 per cent), Audi (up 21.9 per cent) and Skoda (up 12.8 per cent) are all doing fine.
Nissan smashed it. The NP300 Navara is really resonating with buyers, leaping into third position behind the HiLx and Ranger, and ahead of the Triton and Colorado. The X-Trail also topped the medium SUV market with 2225 sales, versus the 2169 managed by perennial champion, the Mazda CX-5.
No segment dropped faster than micro cars, down 40.1 per cent to 618 units. The Fiat 500, Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Micra all had huge drops, largely because cars a segment up are so damn cheap at the moment.
Does a four-star ANCAP rating really hurt sales? Well, the Hyundai Tucson managed 1838 units, third in segment, as stocks of the old ix35 finally ran out.
Top 10 brands November 2015:
Toyota — 18,402 (up 15 per cent)
Mazda — 9807 (up 21 per cent)
Holden — 8889 (up 13.3 per cent)
Hyundai — 8416 down 2.1 per cent)Nissan — 7229 (up 39.5 per cent)
Ford — 6332 (up 8.4 per cent)
Mitsubishi — 5169 (down 26.9 per cent)
Volkswagen — 4441 (up 0.9 per cent)
Subaru — 3884 (up 2.2 per cent)
Honda — 3067 (up 2.9 per cent)
Top 10 models November 2015:
Toyota Corolla — 3430 (up 5.1 per cent)
Toyota HiLux — 3369 (2531 were 4×4)
Mazda 3 — 3104 (down 11.3 per cent)
Ford Ranger — 3028 (2437 were 4×4)
Toyota Camry — 3025 (up 52.7 per cent)
Holden Commodore — 2614 (up 18.8 per cent)
Hyundai i30 — 2499 (down 13.4 per cent)Nissan Navara — 2291 (1857 were 4×4)
Nissan X-Trail — 2225 (up 92 per cent)
Mazda CX-5 — 2169 (up 34.1 per cent)
Mazda MX-5 2.0L_03
Segment-by-segment breakdown:
Micro (618, down 40.1 per cent):
Mitsubishi Mirage (150)
Suzuki Celerio (146)
Fiat 500 (123)
Light under $25K (8300, down 6.9 per cent):
Hyundai Accent (1371)Mazda 2 (1222)
Toyota Yaris (1051)
Light over $25K (435, up 8.2 per cent):
Mini (199)
Audi A1 (164)
Peugeot 208 (40)
Small under $40K (16,846, down 19.9 per cent
Toyota Corolla (3430)
Mazda 3 (3104)
Hyundai i30 (2499)Small over $40K (1500, up 1.2 per cent):
Audi A3 (519)
Mercedes-Benz A-Class (290)
BMW 1 Series (224)
Medium under $60K (4959, up 26.5 per cent):
Toyota Camry (3025)
Mazda 6 (382)
Subaru Liberty (314)
Medium over $60K (1957, down 11.8 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz C-Class (666)
BMW 3 Series (314)
Mercedes-Benz CLA (277)
Large under $70K (3576, up 17.6 per cent):
Holden Commodore (2614)
Toyota Aurion (502)
Ford Falcon (401)
Large over $70K (307, down 21.7 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz E-Class (116)
BMW 5 Series (57)
Maserati Ghibli (30)
Upper Large under $100K (144, up 2.2 per cent):
Chrysler 300 (75)
Holden Caprice (69)
Upper Large above $100K (86, up 43.3 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz S-Class (33)
BMW 7 Series (30)
Audi A8 (9)
People-movers under $60K (1139, up 52.7 per cent):
Kia Carnival (449)
Honda Odyssey (245)
Hyundai iMax (222)People-movers over $60K (53, up 20.5 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz Valente (27)
Mercedes-Benz V-Class (26)
Sports under $80K (1237, up 4.7 per cent):
Mazda MX-5 (221)
Toyota 86 (209)
BMW 2 Series (176)
Sports over $80K (473, down 30.3 per cent):
BMW 4 Series (140)
Mercedes-Benz E-Class (87)
Audi TT (85)
Sports over $200K (96, down 2 per cent).:
BMW 6 Series (20)
Bentley Continental (18)
Porsche 911 (13)
SUV Small under $40K (7581, up 1.4 per cent):
Mazda CX-3 (1397)
Mitsubishi ASX (1123)
Honda HR-V (863)
SUV Small over $40K (1069, up 46.4 per cent):
Audi Q3 (298)
Mercedes-Benz GLA (291)
Lexus NX (249)
SUV Medium under $60K (11,344, up 19.9 per cent):
Nissan X-Trail (2225)
Mazda CX-5 (2169)
Hyundai Tucson (1838)SUV Medium over $60K (1719, up 40.3 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz GLC (321)
Audi Q5 (319)
Land Rover Discovery Sport (294)
SUV Large under $70K (10,456, up 21.9 per cent):
Toyota Prado (1257)
Toyota Kluger (1200)
Subaru Outback (962)
SUV Large over $70K (2035, up 29 per cent):
BMW X5 (348)
Land Rover Discovery (288)
Range Rover Sport (279)
SUV Upper Large under $100K (1076, up 29.3 per cent):
Toyota LandCruiser (938)
Nissan Patrol (138)
SUV Upper Large over $100K (143, up 78.8 per cent):
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class (69)
Lexus LX (37)
Range Rover (25)
Light Vans (265, up 22.1 per cent):
Renault Kangoo (101)
Volkswagen Caddy (275)
Suzuki APV (47)
Medium Vans (1327, up 1.6 per cent):
Toyota HiAce (581)
Hyundai iLoad (313)Renault Trafic (124)
4×2 utes (3995, up 32.2 per cent):
Toyota HiLux (838)
Mitsubishi Triton (623)
Ford Ranger (591)
4×4 utes (12,147, up 13.7 per cent):
Toyota HiLux (2531)
Ford Ranger (2437)
Nissan Navara (1857)
Source: 
November new vehicle sales : VFACTS winners and losers, market on record pace
