VFACTS: Ranger tops March sales boom

MARCH was yet another record-breaking month for new-vehicle sales, the 109,647 volume figure beating the best previous record achieved in March 2018, when 106,988 units were sold.

It is also the ninth month of the past 12 that has achieved an Australian new-vehicle monthly sales record.

For year-to-date January to March, the 304,452 sales figure is also a record for first quarter Australian new vehicle sales volume and represents an increase of 13.2 per cent on last year’s result.

Electrified powertrains (hybrid, PHEV and EV) grew to represent almost one in four of all new vehicles sold while SUVs continued as the dominant body style, representing more than half of the new-vehicle market.

“This is a terrific result for the sector however, all car brands are well aware that these results cannot be taken for granted,” said FCAI chief executive Tony Weber.

“We need to factor in the ongoing cost of living pressures and the challenges for industry and consumers that will emerge with the introduction of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) in less than nine months.”

For the month of March, Toyota remains the top-selling brand, with 18,961 units (17.3 per cent market share) for the month, followed by Ford with 8776 sales (8.0 per cent share) and Mazda in third position, with 8246 units (7.5 per cent share).

As expected, Toyota also has a clear dominance in year-to-date also, with 56,238 units sold (18.5 per cent market share) followed by Mazda with 23,761 sales (7.8 per cent share) and Ford in third place with 22675 sales (7.4 per cent share).

Rounding off the top-10 most popular marques YTD, Mitsubishi came fourth with 20,188 sales (6.6 per cent share), then Kia (18,918 units, 6.2 per cent share), Hyundai (17,850 sales, 5.9 per cent share), Nissan (14,293 units, 4.7 per cent)

Of the top-10 marques, Toyota showed the largest year to date increase, with 37.4 per cent improvement, followed by Tesla with 22.9 per cent and Mitsubishi with 21.3 per cent higher volume than 2023 YTD.

The biggest sellers were SUVs, with 64,631 units (58.9 per cent of sales), up from 53,526 last year (55.0 per cent), while passenger segment was slightly up in volume (17,611 versus 17,182) but down in market share from 17.7 per cent in March 2023 to 16.1 per cent last month.

The light commercial segment increased 1049 to 23,061 units but the segment’s share of the total market fell to 21.0 per cent from 22.6 per cent compared to March 2023. Heavy commercial sales and share were both down, from 4531 (4.7 per cent share) to 4344 (4.0 percent) this year.

In year-to-date sales, SUVs also led the way with 172,234 units (up 16.3 per cent), followed by light commercials (67,427, up 13.7 per cent) and passenger (53,655, up 6.8 per cent). Heavy commercials saw a slight drop 2.0 per cent, with 11,136 sold to the end of March.

The most popular vehicle in Australia in March was again the Ford Ranger with 5661 sales, a 25.6 per cent increase on last year.

Toyota RAV4 supply has clearly improved, with the medium SUV second most popular with 5070 units, (up 185.2 per cent). In third place was the Tesla Model Y, with 4379 sales, also a large (126.0 per cent) increase over March 2023.

Meanwhile the Toyota Hilux, once Australia’s most popular vehicle, has been relegated to fourth place and 3995 units (down 12.8 per cent)

While the RAV4 and Tesla Model Y both more than doubled their March 2023 sales numbers last month, others in the top 10 that also more than doubled volume year-on-year include the Ford Everest in seventh position (2264 units, up 129.8 per cent) and eighth most popular vehicle, the Nissan X-Trail (2161 sales, up 124.4 per cent).

As for the mix of EV and ICE vehicles, sales of electrified vehicles (hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric) were 23.5 per cent of the total market in March.

Battery electric vehicles made up 9.5 per cent of new vehicle sales, up from 6.8 per cent in March 2023. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales increased compared with March 2023, with 14.0 per cent share compared with 6.0 per cent in 2023. 

Sales figures in each State and Territory improved over March 2023 results except for Tasmania which witnessed a decrease of 0.6 per cent (1610).

Sales in the Australian Capital Territory were up by 0.5 per cent (1584); New South Wales 11.7 per cent (33,808); Queensland 5.9 per cent (23,550); South Australia 6.9 per cent (6,992); Victoria 24.9 per cent (30,099); Western Australia 9.3 per cent (11,074) and Northern Territory 19.8 per cent (930).

Top 10 vehicle sales by make (March 2024):

Top 10 vehicle sales by model (March 2024):

State by state (March 2024):

*All data supplied courtesy of the FCAI.