The Ferrari 296 GTB showed that a hybrid V6 can be better than an atmo V8. The Tesla Cybertruck has demonstrated that 48v electricals and 4680 battery cells are a formidable technical combination.
Hyundai has proved beyond any measure of doubt with its Ioniq 5 N that an electric car can be involving and exciting to drive.
The cars for sale in 2024 are faster, smarter, cleaner, safer and more packed with features than ever before. I remember goggling at the performance of the Ferrari F40 back in 1987. If you’d have told me that, at some point in my professional life, a cheapish Chinese hatchback could leave Maranello’s finest for dead to 100km/h I’d have thought you’d need sectioning. Yet here we are.
Because the ICE gloves have come off, be in no doubt that some of the cars on sale now will be worth a fortune in a few years’ time. We’ll look back at cars like the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS and wonder why we didn’t squirrel one away in a dehumidified garage and retire on the proceeds.
That doesn’t deter some online commenters though, with one visitor to the Wheels site claiming that the EV ‘fad’ had already passed. That ignores the fact that manufacturers like Hyundai, the Stellantis Group, Volvo and Nissan are cutting research and development budgets to zero on passenger vehicle internal combustion engines.
Very soon, there will be no more new engines being unveiled. The payback period on such projects is already becoming too short.
I can’t get bent out of shape in any way about the minimal poofteenth of pollution that this last fling of enthusiast ICE cars will emit from their tailpipes. In the overall scheme of things, it’ll prove little but the most insignificant of rounding errors.
For those of you that are rusted-on petrolheads, we understand if the electric cars to date haven’t done much to get you excited. That will change.
I was recently speaking to some Porsche engineers who were working on EV projects and asked them whether they miss working on more traditional Porsche cars. Not one of them would go back. They all maintained that we are only just beginning to see the mind-bending things the next generation of all-electric powertrains and chassis are capable of.
So happy New Year to one and all. It could well be a cracker.
The same august (if unheard of, before or since) body also named Giorgio Giugiaro as Designer of the Century – so, you know, no beef there.
What you may not have known was that the Car of the Century had already been proclaimed a full 35 years before, by the company that built it. To this accolade was launched, on 20 November 1965 in Sydney, the Austin 1800.
To give it due, just six years after the revolution of its sibling Mini, the 1800 was a space-efficient stand-out against a class of cart-sprung and drum-braked rivals – Holden HD, Ford Falcon XP and Chrysler Valiant AP6. It would have an echo 20 years later in Mitsubishi’s Magna.
The B-series engine, while here mounted transversely and driving the front wheels, was essentially that from the MGB sports car.
The transverse drivetrain and wheel-at-each-corner stance translated to 70 percent of the car’s overall length being devoted to passenger or luggage space.
Launched in the UK in 1964, the 1800 had a year of testing in Australia prior to local production at Zetland. Modifications included stronger engine mounts, deeper seat padding, fully reclining backrests, standard seatbelts, a quicker steering ratio, refined throttle and gearshift cabling, and improved dust sealing and underbody protection.
These all contributed to a high profile in endurance rallying, and gained the 1800 a dedicated minority following – including for the rare (fewer than 5000 built) local ute. At its peak, Australia accounted for 40 percent of the 1800’s global sales.
Around 60,000 Aussie sedans and utes were built, in Mk1 and (from 1968) MkII guises, before replacement in 1970 by the even quirkier X6 Tasman and Kimberley – the latter with a 2.2-litre in-line six across its nose.
This Mk 7 example of a Golf R is also a manual, which is a welcome rarity in these days of standard DSGs.
The diehards are likely to compete hard for this one, with bids – at the time of writing – at $60,100.
On sale here is a handsome 1981 Holden WB Automatic Panel Van which also features an equally handsome 5.0-litre V8.
This example looks quite weathered, which this author remembers as the fate of many a TX3 from this era.
Obviously we reckon every story we run is a banger, but if you’re looking for the highlights reel, this is it. Read on and click away!
Sharing parts with the best-selling Toyota RAV 4 puts a lot of weight onto the shoulders of the Lexus NX (nimble crossover). But luckily the Japanese automaker has given its all to the latest version of the luxury compact SUV.
The NX250 offers a harmonious blend of style and comfort. Designed to cater to discerning drivers seeking a sophisticated and engaging driving experience, the NX250 raises the bar.
But amidst a crowded field of luxury contenders, how does the NX250 distinguish itself?
The Lexus NX 250 is the entry-level variant in the line-up, priced at $63,400 before on-road costs. It’s creeped up ever so slightly each year since it launched for $60,800 in early 2022.
It is available in a single 2.5-litre petrol offering, driven via the two front wheels to deliver 152kW and 247Nm.
If you’re after additional performance or increased economy, you’re better off looking at other variants in the line-up such as the 350, 350h or 450h+ which offer sportier, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
The quoted combined fuel economy the base petrol is 6.9L/100km, but in real-world testing this figure rose to about 9L.
| 10 speakers | Heated front seats |
| 2-way power lumbar support for driver | Leather accented seat trim |
| 18-inch alloy wheels | Leather accented steering wheel |
| 8-way power adjustable front seats | LED headlamps |
| 9.8- inch touchscreen display | Paddle shifters |
| Android Autou2122 and Wireless Apple Carplay | Power back door |
| Daytime running lamps | Rain sensing wipers |
| Digital radio (dab) | Roof rails |
| Dual zone climate control | Smart entry & start |
| Electrically adjustable steering column | Stop & start system |
| Electrochromatic rear view mirror | with electrochromatic |
| Front & rear fog lamps |
A single option pack, which Lexus call an ‘Enhancement Pack’ adds a moonroof, kick sensor for the power tailgate and a wireless phone charger.
All paint colour options besides Onyx Black and Caliente Red are charged at $1825. Inside the cabin you’ll get the choice of four leather trim options, available in black, cream, tan and red.
For adult occupant protection, it secured a 91% score, achieved 89% in child occupant protection, and earned a commendable 92% for its safety assist systems.
All versions of the NX are equipped with dual frontal, side chest, side head, centre and driver knee airbags.
Across its entire range, the NX250 features a broad suite of safety functionalities through the Lexus Safety Sense package, ensuring comprehensive protection.
2024 Lexus NX Safety System features:
The NX250 competes with other luxury, and slightly pricier compact SUVs such as:
The base 2024 Lexus NX 250 offers a dependable premium SUV experience, albeit without the excitement some might seek.
It delivers ample space, comfort, and a more affordable option within the mid-size luxury segment despite its less impressive performance. While it faces some criticism for its coarse powertrain and the absence of embedded navigation, its value proposition is bolstered by its competitive pricing against costlier rivals.
Considering the additional price and wait time of more premium models in the range, the NX 250 could suffice as a good-value option in the luxury SUV space.
The Ford Ranger arrived with much fanfare two years ago with better performance, dynamics, ride, accommodation, and towing features. Although there is a swathe of Cab-Chassis and Super Cab models to choose from, here we’re concentrating on the popular Double Cab 4×4 pick-up range.
Even here you’re spoiled for choice, with 10 variants that can tow 3500kg to pick from, ranging from the Ranger 2.0 XL at $50,880 to the Platinum 3.0 V6 at $79,390 (all plus on-road costs).
The Ranger is well equipped, with a high level of active and passive safety across the range. Every has dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting curtain airbags, along with a driver and passenger knee airbag. A front centre airbag is also standard, which protects front seat occupants in side impact crashes and prevents front occupants from clashing heads.
Adaptive cruise control is standard across the range, and from XLT upwards lane centring, traffic sign recognition and a ‘Stop & Go’ function that will allow the vehicle to come to a complete halt in traffic and then automatically resume its cruise setting. There’s also Active Park Assist 2.0, which will help with parallel parking.
At its Premium V6 spec level, luxury elements such as leather interior, heated front seats, power front seats and of course auto wipers, auto headlights auto-dimming interior rear-vision mirror and keyless entry/start.
Then there are the towing-specific features, which we will get to below.
The stories below will give you a guide on everything to do with the 2024 Ford Ranger. All fresh stories will be found on our Ford Ranger page here
The Ford Ranger has had a lot of development work with towing in mind, and it shows. The Ranger is very stable, has a composed ride and its 2.0 Bi-Turbo or 3.0 V6 engines suit towing well, in performance and efficiency, with a 10-speed automatic transmission that doesn’t hunt or jolt when challenged by a heavy trailer behind it. Fuel efficiency for the 2.0 is very good, while the 3.0 V6 is of course thirstier but still competitive.
The Ranger not only has impressive towing capacity, but also offers a host of dedicated towing features standard — from XLS trim level, at least.
All have towing vehicle integration (for when you input trailer dimension so that the vehicle accounts for the extra length for blind-spot warning) and a towing checklist (which reminds the driver of safety checks required after hitching up).
A tow haul mode, which more quickly executes gearshifts to account for the extra towing load, is standard from XLS up. New for 2024.5 Ranger is Pro Trailer Back-Up Assist for Wildtrak, Platinum and Raptor, allowing drivers to manoeuvre their trailers using the outer ring of the drive mode selector on the centre console.
All Rangers offer Trailer Sway Control (which actives individual wheel brakes to counteract excessive trailer sway) and Load Adaptive Control (which better apportions braking force between front and rear with a load in or on the back, such as with heavy towball loads) as standard.
Most of these mid-size dual-cab 4×4 utes can adequately tow 2000kg without a fuss, but when you increase the load up to around 3000kg or more (for those that can legally tow more – some can’t) there are the winners and runners up.
The Isuzu D-MAX, Mazda BT-50, Nissan Navara, Toyota HiLux and Volkswagen Amarok are all key mid-size 4×4 dual-cab towing competitors. There’s also the new 2024 Triton with a (400kg higher) 3500kg maximum tow capacity, higher engine outputs and Australian suspension tune – but we can’t place the new Triton in the towing pecking order until get to test it in coming months.
There are also plenty more cheaper utes to pick from, such as the GWM Cannon, LDV T60 (both of which only have 3000kg towing capacity) and the SsangYong Musso vying for buyers’ attention. None of these utes are really on the podium for towing honours.
While the very similar Volkswagen Amarok and the D-MAX/BT-50 models come close, none quite have the Ford Ranger’s overall towing polish. The Ranger 2.0 Bi-Turbo is the pick of the mid-size dual cab 4×4 utes for heavy duty towing. It offers the best blend of towing performance, efficiency, ride, realistic payload while towing and towing-assist features.
| Ranger XLT | D-MAX LS-U+ | Navara Pro4-X | HiLux SR5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 2.0-litre | 3.0-litre | 3.0-litre | 2.8-litre |
| Power | 154kW | 140kW | 140kW | 150kW |
| Torque | 600Nm | 450Nm | 450Nm | 500Nm |
| Towing Cap | 3500kg | 3500kg | 3500kg | 3500kg |
| Tow download | 350kg | 350kg | 350kg | 350kg |
| Kerb Weight | 2271kg | 2112kg | 2146kg | 2110kg |
| GVM | 3230kg | 3100kg | 3150kg | 3050kg |
| GCM | 6350kg | 6000kg | 5910kg | 5850kg |
The Federal Government has proposed to introduce new legislation under the name New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, and recently published its assessment of various NVES proposals – titled Cleaner, Cheaper to Run Cars: The Australian New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Consultation Impact Analysis.
The Analysis presents the costs and benefits of different options for developing the NVES, and identifying a preferred policy. It addresses some of the key questions being asked about the NVES, likely to be introduced on January 1, 2025.
The NVES will regulate vehicle exhaust emissions rather than fuel consumption. Three emission limit scenarios (A, B and C) have been modelled, and each model regulates “Passenger” and “Light Commercial” (LC) vehicles to different standards – some SUVs, for example, are included in the LC category.
Year-by-year NVES emissions, total CO2 reduction, and average annual CO2 reduction for options A, B and C are shown in the tables below.
LC emissions do the opposite, with the rate of required reductions highest initially and then slowing from 2026 to 2029.
| Year | Passenger (g/km) | Light Commercial (g/km) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 141 | 199 |
| 2026 | 137 | 190 |
| 2027 | 127 | 183 |
| 2028 | 115 | 176 |
| 2029 | 99 | 172 |
| Total CO2 reduction | 34% | 14% |
| Average annualu00a0 CO2 reduction | 6.8% | 3.8% |
This approach is intended to catch up with the United States’ NVES by 2028, resulting in far lower emissions levels at 2029 when compared with Option A.
| Year | Passenger (g/km) | Light Commercial (g/km) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 141 | 199 |
| 2026 | 117 | 164 |
| 2027 | 92 | 129 |
| 2028 | 68 | 94 |
| 2029 | 58 | 81 |
| Total CO2 reduction | 61% | 62% |
| Average annual CO2 reduction | 12.2% | 12.4% |
This plan would equal the United States’ NVES by 2026 – and then bring forward its 2029-20 targets to 2028-2029, with 2029 emissions approximately 25 percent of 2025 emissions.
| Year | Passenger (g/km) | Light Commercial (g/km) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 141 | 199 |
| 2026 | 103 | 150 |
| 2027 | 66 | 101 |
| 2028 | 51 | 63 |
| 2029 | 34 | 56 |
| Total CO2 reduction | 77% | 74% |
| Average annual CO2 reduction | 15.5% | 14.7% |
“The announcement gets us off the starter’s grid and on the road to cheaper, cleaner transport,” said CEO Amanda McKenzie. “Many Australians are doing it tough right now, with petrol one of the expenses causing the most financial stress for households.
“At the same time, pollution from inefficient, petrol-guzzling cars is fuelling harmful climate change. By giving Australians a better choice of cleaner, cheaper-to-run cars, a strong fuel efficiency standard will cut household costs and clean up our air.”
These include 11,000 premature deaths each year, more than 19,000 admissions to hospital for cardiovascular and respiratory issues, and some 66,000 asthma cases. Reducing vehicle emissions should significantly reduce this harm.
The NVES proposal will require vehicle manufacturers to offer more low- and zero-emissions vehicles in Australia. Currently, the small number of such options relative to Europe means Australians are paying more than they should for such vehicles, according to the Climate Council.
Manufacturers will still be able to sell larger SUVs and utes, but will be more likely to offer “cheaper, and cleaner versions,” the Climate Council says.
As manufacturers are already producing low and zero emissions vehicles, importing more of those vehicles here should not significantly increase prices.
The European and US experiences with emissions regulations indicates that low and zero emissions vehicles may actually become cheaper to purchase, relative to vehicles with higher emissions, once the NVES is in place.
Prices have increased by $500 across the Eclipse Cross range.
Most of the updates are focused on the entry-level ES petrol and PHEV variants, which add dusk-sensing headlamps without an ‘off’ switch, a driver’s side rear LED fog lamp, and soundproof windshield glass.
The base ES petrol – which is now priced from $31,990 before on-road costs – also receives a lane departure warning, bringing it in line with all other variants.
The ES continues to feature a basic vehicle and pedestrian-detecting automatic emergency braking system, while blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-change assist, automatic high beam and adaptive cruise control remain limited to higher-grade Eclipse Cross models.
There are no specification changes for other Eclipse Cross models. However, the blacked-out ‘LS Black Edition’ is now a standalone ‘Black Edition’ variant for model year 2024.
The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross competes with the Mazda CX-30, MG ZST, GWM Haval Jolion, Hyundai Kona, Nissan Qashqai, Kia Seltos and Toyota C-HR in the small SUV segment.
| 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross ES features | |
|---|---|
| Lane-departure warning (new) | Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto |
| Rain-sensing wipers (new) | Four-speaker audio system |
| Dusk-sensing headlights without ‘off’ switch (new) | Cloth upholstery |
| Driver’s side rear LED fog lamp (new) | Halogen headlights |
| Soundproof windshield glass (new) | LED daytime running lamps |
| 16-inch alloy wheels | Climate-control air conditioning |
| Rear parking sensors | Manual cruise control |
| 8-inch infotainment system | |
| In addition to ES | |
|---|---|
| Auto-dimming rear-view mirror | High beam assist |
| Second-row USB ports | Electronic parking brake w/ auto hold function |
| Lane change assist | Rear privacy glass |
| Blind-spot alert | Six-speaker audio system |
| Rear cross-traffic alert | Leather-wrapped steering wheel |
| 18-inch alloy wheels | LED fog lights |
| Keyless entry and push-button start | Heated, power-folding side mirrors |
| Illuminated front door trim | Black roof rails |
| Rain-sensing wipers | |
| In addition to LS | |
|---|---|
| Black exterior trim | Heated front seats |
| 18-inch alloy wheels (black) | Four-way power-adjustable driver’s seat |
| Leather- and suede-accented upholstery | Removed: Roof rails |
| In addition to LS | |
|---|---|
| Dual-zone climate control | Eight-speaker audio system |
| Heated front seats | Adaptive cruise control |
| Front and rear parking sensors | 360-degree camera system. |
| Suede-accented leather-look upholstery | Silver lower front bumper |
| Power-adjustable driver’s seat | |
| In addition to Aspire | |
|---|---|
| Hands-free electric tailgate | Leather-appointed upholstery |
| Optional light grey leather upholstery | Power-adjustable front passenger seat |
| LED headlights | Built-in satellite navigation |
| Dual sunroof | Heated rear seats |
| Flip-up head-up display | Heated steering wheel |
| Ultrasonic misacceleration mitigation system | |
| In addition to ES | |
|---|---|
| Second-row USB ports | Leather-wrapped steering wheel |
| All-wheel drive w/ Super All-Wheel Control | Keyless entry and push-button start |
| 2.4-litre plug-in hybrid system | Rear-centre armrest |
| Acoustic Vehicle Alert System | Illuminated front door trim |
| 18-inch alloy wheels | Chrome interior door handles |
| Electronic parking brake w/ auto hold function | Power-folding side mirrors |
| In addition to ES PHEV | |
|---|---|
| Vehicle-to-load functionality | Rear privacy glass |
| Silver lower front bumper | Four-way power-adjustable driver’s seat |
| LED headlights | Suede-accented leather-look upholstery |
| Lane-keep assist | Eight-speaker audio system |
| Blind-spot alert | Auto-dimming rear-view mirror |
| Rear cross-traffic alert | 360-degree camera system. |
| Adaptive cruise control | Front and rear parking sensors |
| High beam assist | Dual-zone climate control |
| Rain-sensing wipers | Heated front seats |
| LED fog lamps | Black roof rails |
| Heated side mirrors | |
| In addition to Aspire PHEV | |
|---|---|
| Hands-free electric tailgate | Leather-appointed upholstery |
| Optional light grey leather upholstery | Power-adjustable front passenger seat |
| Dual sunroof | Built-in satellite navigation |
| Flip-up head-up display | Heated rear seats |
| Ultrasonic misacceleration mitigation system | Heated steering wheel |
| 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross available colours | |
|---|---|
| Solid white | Sterling silver* |
| Titanium grey* | Black* |
| Lightning blue* | White diamond# |
| Red diamond# | |
| * Metallic paint, $740 | # Premium paint, $940 |
Black Edition is limited to white diamond, red diamond, titanium and black.
It is matched to a continuously-variable automatic transmission, with front-wheel drive as standard. An all-wheel-drive option is available on LS and Exceed grades.
The Eclipse Cross Plug-In Hybrid features a 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine from the previous-generation Outlander PHEV, with 94kW and 199Nm.
It is mated with two electric motors, producing 60kW/137Nm and 70kW/195Nm, respectively. It has a 130kW and 322Nm total system output.
Under the floor is a 13.8kWh battery pack, allowing up to 54km of emission-free driving on the electric motors in EV-only mode.
Then there is a Series Hybrid mode available, where the petrol engine acts as a generator for the electric motors, which in turn continue to propel the car.
Lastly, the electric motors can also act as range extenders for the petrol engine in parallel hybrid mode, working together to increase range and switching where the power comes from depending on the scenario.
| 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross combined fuel consumption | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1.5-litre turbo-petrol FWD | 7.3L/100km | 165g/km |
| 1.5-litre turbo-petrol AWD | 7.7L/100km | 174g/km |
| 2.4-litre PHEV AWD | 1.9L/100km | 43g/km |
It was covered by a five-star ANCAP score based on less-stringent testing conducted in 2017. This rating expired on December 31, 2023.
Seven airbags (dual front, side, curtain, and driver’s knee) are fitted across the range.
| 2023 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross active safety features | |
|---|---|
| Autonomous emergency braking (vehicle, pedestrian) | Reversing camera |
| Lane-departure warning | Rear parking sensors |
| Emergency stop signal | |
Blind-spot alert, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic high-beam and lane-change assist are fitted to the LS petrol and Aspire PHEV or higher.
The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross measures 4545mm long, 1805mm wide and 1685mm tall, with a 2670-millimetre wheelbase.
With the rear seats up, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross has a 405-litre boot capacity. Folding the second row increases luggage capacity to 1146 litres.
This reverts to a five-year/100,000-kilometre period once the vehicle is serviced outside the Mitsubishi dealer network.
Maintenance for the Eclipse Cross is required every 12 months or 15,000 kilometres, whichever comes first.
Capped-price servicing is available for ten years.
Note: List scrolls horizontally.
The 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross will arrive in local showrooms this month.
Since launching at the turn of the millennium, BMW’s family-sized SUV quickly became a firm favourite among the upper-middle class, and now, four generations on, that popularity has endured.
It’s not difficult to understand why. For one, it’s attractive. We talk about the CX-90 having good proportions… Well, that’s arguably because it copies the X5’s format, with front wheel wells pushed well forward to make room for an inline six in the middle, in turn producing a long bonnet that balances out the visual heft of the wagon box on the back.
On the inside, the X5 is classically German. Cleanly presented with well-crafted materials throughout, it’s difficult to find surfaces that look or feel unpleasant, or out of place – even the standard ‘Verino’ leather feels high-end. Switchgear and closures all operate smoothly with a pleasing tactility to them, and it’s genuinely hard to find a rough edge, figurative or literal.
Space utilisation could be better though: the centre box houses a good volume beneath its bi-fold lid, but the cubby ahead of it which contains the cupholders and phone charging pad is hemmed-in by the shape of its recess and lid. Try and put your phone on charge when you’ve got a drink in there, you’ll see what I mean.
With a wide cabin and a very low transmission hump the X5 can even take three adults across the rear bench, but there’s no third-row capability in the X5 anymore – even as an option.
On the plus side, a 640-litre seats-up boot capacity should swallow up prams, groceries and other cargo with ease, and the X5’s power-operated split-fold tailgate is far more manageable in cramped shopping centre carparks.
The massive contact patch provided by its Pirelli P-Zeros (275/40R21 up front, 315/35R21 at the rear) confers a tenacious hold on the pavement despite a 2060kg kerb weight, and the explosive energy of its engine is good enough for a 5.5-second zero-to-hundred claim.
The steering is pretty ordinary, with scarcely any feel or feedback, even in Sport mode, but in every other way the X5 is a true performer. What’s equally as impressive is when you prod the ‘Comfort’ mode button on the centre console, the X5’s adaptive dampers slacken and the transmission calibration eases up to make it a very civilised machine for day-to-day urban schlepping.
Opting for the diesel inline six of the X5 xDrive30d instead of the petrol xDrive40i only trims $4000 from the price which, considering this 40i retails at $138,900 before options and on-roads, isn’t much of a discount.
A four-cylinder diesel disappeared from the range last year, making the X5 a six-pot-only proposition in Australia, and a pretty pricey one at that.
Which is a shame, because not only does the update bring a substantial exterior facelift, but it also adds 30kW and 70Nm to the petrol six’s output, revises the gearbox, and grafts a completely new fascia to the dash centered around a gargantuan 14.9-inch main display running BMW’s latest infotainment operating system. The price hasn’t moved, either, in a rare win for the consumer.
The X5 is far from cheap, but excellence rarely is.
The last time we checked, in May 2022, there was believed to be around 1.45 billion cars on Earth.
That means, the world has added a lazy 25 million cars to its total – although the number sold in that time is much higher, as some of the world’s total car population will include new cars replacing destroyed (shredded, crushed and/or recycled) cars. So if you’re wondering…
There’s no single official single source of car sales data for the entire world, but – according to organisations like the International Energy Agency, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, data publisher Statista, and automotive industry analysts JATO Dynamics – these numbers are believed to be accurate.
All of the numbers in this story are based on data collected and studied by those organisations.
In January 2024 alone, approximately 89,782 new vehicles were sold worldwide – representing an increase of around 5.8 percent compared to January 2023.
This includes the roughly 21 million vehicles registered in Australia (772 vehicles per 1000 people), according to ABS data published in 2022.
After that, there’s daylight between the rest of the world, which includes:
Breaking the per-capita numbers down by country starts to show some interesting results, such New Zealand (0.90) outpacing the United States (0.89) in having the most vehicles per person – which is a dramatic flip, because in 2022 it was NZ on 0.88 and the US still on 0.89.
The Central African nation is followed in ascending order by:
This figure is largely a result of Singapore’s expansive public transport system – and, perhaps more significantly, the government’s tax-heavy policies aimed at reducing car ownership to manage traffic congestion and environmental impact.
– this was up about three per cent from the nine-year low of 78 million in 2020 due to the pandemic, but still well down from the 2018 peak of 97 million.
According to the International Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles (IOCA), the top 10 manufacturing countries in 2021 were:
Finalised numbers for 2023 have not been published. Many organisations had forecast a figure of around 14 million cars, but with reports of slowing interest in some markets, the actual number sold might have fallen short.
EV sales have generally been climbing, however. In 2022, global EV sales reached 10.5 million units – including PHEVs but not conventional hybrids –representing a 55 percent increase over 2021.
