THREE utes made it into the top ten sellers in Australia in 2014, with the Toyota HiLux the bestselling ute and third most popular vehicle overall.

Only the Toyota Corolla (43,735) and Mazda 3 (43,313) outsold the HiLux, which posted a total of 38,136 for its 4X2 and 4X4 models combined.

It’s not all good news for utes, with the mining downturn sending overall sales down 4.5 percent after two years of strong growth.

For the first time since 2004, sales of 4X4 models dropped. They had more than doubled over the past decade, coming from behind 4X2s to account for more than three-quarters of all ute sales.

The Australian-engineered Ford Ranger came in at number six overall with 26,619 sales, posting a healthy 22.4 percent growth, closely followed by the Mitsubishi Triton in seventh (24,250), making it a trio of utes in the top ten.

It’s not just the usual suspects benefitting from the general strength of ute sales. The VW Amorak is the German maker’s second-best performer behind the Golf, last year recording a 10.4 percent growth to 8285.

Holden and Ford utes remained solid performers, with the Commodore’s 5596, more than doubling arch-rival Falcon’s 2785, with the Holden ute’s sales down a meagre 5.8 percent compared to the Ford’s 40.5 percent nosedive. Despite this, the Ford ute still made up 43.9 percent of the Falcon’s overall sales.

What will make 2015 interesting is the arrival of a raft of new models, including HiLux, Nissan Navara and Triton, as well as a facelifted Ranger.

Top 10 Brands

Top 10 Models

Top 10 Passenger Cars

Top 10 SUVs

Top 10 Utes

Top 10 Sports Cars <$80K

Top 10 Sports Cars >$200K

Top 10 Luxury Cars <$60K

Top Australian-made Cars

Top 10 Countries of Origin

* Compared with 2013 sales ** Includes imported Sportwagon

TOYOTA continues to dominate the Australian new-car market more than any brand before it, despite losing market share (down from a peak of 23.6 percent in 2008 to 18.3 percent last year).

The 203,501 Toyotas sold in 2014 – the 12th straight year it has topped the local sales charts and the 13th in total – was almost double that of second-placed Holden, with 106,092 sales.

Holden’s sales – down 5.3 percent on 2013 – mean it has just 52.1 percent of Toyota’s total, a record low.

Traditionally the race to be the top-selling brand has been fought to the end, but Toyota passed Holden’s full-year tally in July.

Toyota Australia sales and marketing chief Tony Cramb says it was a very different market a decade ago, when Toyota’s 21.1 percent market share was backed up by 18.6 percent from Holden.

But second-placed Holden accounted for just 9.5 percent of the market in 2014 as the brand battles with an ageing or underwhelming fleet (with the exception of the Commodore), and intensifying competition from the likes of Mazda and Hyundai.

However, in 2014 four brands – Toyota, Holden, Mazda and Hyundai – each sold more than 100,000 vehicles, a first for the industry. It’s indicative of strong mid-level players rather than two or three dominant brands.

“What’s happened is there’s been a concentration in this marketplace and Toyota has actually moved away from the competition and we almost outsell number two and number three combined,” Cramb said.

Despite the gloss, Toyota’s sales were down 5.2 percent. Its 18.3 percent market share is one of the lowest to top the market; Ford in 1997 (18.0 percent) and Toyota in 2011 (18.0 percent) are the only times the top-selling brand has commanded less of the market.

2014 was a good year to be a luxury brand, with sales hitting new highs.

Market leaders Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi each posted record sales, up 15.8 percent, 10.7 percent and 20.1 percent respectively.

Mercedes-Benz’s annual tally fell just 1103 units short of making it the tenth-bestselling brand in Australia, a feat it achieved in individual months.

Other luxury players also posted significant sales gains; Porsche (up 47.6 percent), Rolls-Royce (up 143.8 percent), Land Rover (up 21.0 percent), Bentley (up 11.6 percent), Jaguar (up 5.6 percent), Aston Martin (up 8.1 percent), Alfa Romeo (up 5.3 percent) and Lexus (up 1.2 percent) all achieved higher sales in 2014 than they did in 2013, despite the total Australian market being down 2.0 percent.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber put the unprecedented growth in luxury-car sales down to sharper pricing, better vehicles and a new breed of smaller, more affordable cars.

“It’s because of their affordability and the wide range of models the luxury brands bring in; they’ve moved into new market segments, so there’s more buyers attracted to them,” Weber said.

“Affordability is enormous. The C-Class Mercedes is cheaper today than it was 15 years ago and it’s a much better car.”

Weber is confident the luxury-brand growth – which is impacting some of the more expensive versions of mainstream models – can continue throughout 2015.

But not all premium brands were smiling.

In a year when it spent millions on V8 Supercar racing, Volvo sales plunged 9.3 percent, although the S60 on which the race cars are based bucked the trend with an 11.7 percent gain.

Sports car makers Lotus and Lamborghini also dropped, down 14.1 percent and 42.6 percent respectively.

Dylan Campbell – Editor

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ferrari 458 Speciale – My god. If someone dangled the keys to a Speciale before me and said, you can have this, but you shan’t sample another performance car ever again, I would take it – it’s that good. Its naturally-aspirated V8 will cause inappropriate tingling at 9000rpm. Meanwhile the brakes, throttle, steering and gearbox react to your inputs as if spliced into your nervous system. And lord is it fast. What a car.
• Rolls-Royce Wraith – On a tight road it feels fairly nautical so it’s not the driver’s pick, but if you’re after a luxury missile, look no further. The ride is so sublime; it has springs of marshmallows and shocks filled with caramel. It wafts over bumps like the suspension travel is two metres. Who cares, you might say. But then give it the berries and that twin-turbo V12 rockets you, almost silently, to 100km/h in 4.6sec. Plus, it turns heads like it’s feathered.
• Porsche 911 Turbo – There are many cars than have 383kW and can do 0-100km/h in 3.0sec but if they turn you white with fear, it’s a bit pointless. The 911 Turbo wields this power, and is that fast, yet any nincompoop could stomp the throttle in the middle of the corner, on a racetrack, and nurse the 911 Turbo into oversteer. It’s so fast it demands mental recalibration (and makes a Fiesta ST feel like a hire go kart) but yet it’s somehow friendly at the same time.
• Jaguar F-Type Coupe R – Cars of 2013? The F-Type convertible might make my biggest disappointment list. Sure, it’s fast – silly, silly fast – but it doesn’t quite have the cornering talent to back up the oomph (and looks). I feared the Coupe would be the same. I was wrong, thankfully. The Coupe is a monster with a mighty throttle but will dance playfully at the flex of your right foot. But knucklehead antics aren’t its only trick. Drive cleanly and it’s rewarding, too; it’s a rugby player that knows ballerina. Oh, and the noise. Its exhaust note’s since ruined every other V8 for me.
• BMW i8 – So I only drove it through the ’burbs but I felt like George Jetson, hovering silently in what feels like a four-wheeled spacecraft. I knocked the i8 into angry mode and gave it some stick and was relieved to find an exhaust note that isn’t terrible (even if there’s a bit of artificial aural sweetening). A massive relief – hybrids can be good. Very good.

LOWLIGHTS

• BMW M4 – Last year I drove the E46 M3 CSL – the actual car on the cover of MOTOR’s Performance Car of the Year 2004 issue. It worked voodoo on my little driving soul – fast but friendly, loud and full of character. The E92 is similarly beguiling with its leather-jacket V8. But the M4, though extremely fast, feels like BMW went through a checklist – power, brakes, suspension – but missed the one that says “soul”. And any car that’s more intimidating than exhilarating when driven fast isn’t for me.
• Mini Cooper S – Mini Cooper Ss haven’t traditionally made the greatest performance cars. But you always forgave them because, by god, if a devilish titter didn’t erupt from your gob during a fast blast up your favourite road, you needed emotional defibrillating. But the new Mini Cooper S, while no doubt a better car than its predecessor, feels heavy, mired in too many electronics and just less fun.
• HSV GTS Maloo – I love, love, love the HSV GTS sedan. For $92K it is a supremely capable bargain bullet – good power, great brakes, impressive handling and suspension. I hoped the ute would carry over the sedan’s magic but something got lost in translation; the GTS Maloo doesn’t feel its 430kW and the steering struggles making it a more frustrating than fun drive.

Scott Newman – Associate Editor

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ferrari 458 Speciale – The best car I’ve ever driven by some margin. As a driving experience, it is simply incredible – I actually feel a deep, harrowing sadness that I may never drive one of these again. If only Ferrari would let us compare it to something, anything…
• Jaguar F-Type Coupe R – Not as polished as a 911, but much more character. With an unlimited fuel and tyre budget, one of these would be parked in the Newman garage.
• BMW i8 – Turns out the future isn’t so scary after all. Brilliantly polished sports car that just happens to be able to operate in silence using no fuel. Looks amazing, too.
• Bentley Continental V8 S – Big British bruiser full of character and drives better than anything weighing 2.4 tonnes has any right to. Feels special and makes a mega noise.
• Porsche 911 Turbo – A warm January day; Porsche’s new 911 Turbo lines up for its first performance run and nails 3.07sec 0-100km/h and 10.98sec 0-400m. And would do it all day. Incredible car.

LOWLIGHTS

• Nissan Pulsar SSS – There are few bad cars around these days, but this deserves the title. I have fond teenage memories of both the N13 and N14 Pulsar SSS models; the latest one discredits the badge.
• BMW M3/M4 – Both are amazingly capable and incredible pieces of engineering, but I’ve been lucky enough to drive both E46 and E92 M3 this year and would prefer to drive either over the new one – it’s not meant to be like that.
• Lotus Elise – Perhaps this is unfair, as a short drive in the rain does not constitute a proper drive, but came away thinking it was like a poor imitation of a Toyota 86 at more than twice the price. Need to revisit for a proper drive, as have heard amazing thing about Hethel’s sportster.

Louis Cordony – Staff Journalist

HIGHLIGHTS

• BMW i8 – BMW did a fantastic job in taming the complexity of its hybrid drivetrain in to a remarkably refined driving experience. A geek’s wet dream.
• Fiesta ST – So much fun to be had for relative peanuts: Oodles of torque, knife-sharp steering and a satisfying gearshift that slots with telepathic accuracy.
• Nissan GT-R – Nothing I’ve yet driven has parted traffic like the R35 GT-R. The effortless speed from its twin-turbo V6, especially above 100km/h, is astonishing. Could own one, but I’d want to have the talent to tame it first.
• HSV R8 – This particular example had the finest six-speed manual I’ve ever sampled of the General’s which made access to that 340kW LS3 infinitely sweeter. And the sound on lift-off in sport mode: like a gurgling volcano.
• VW Golf R – The cherry sweet electric steering rack from Mk VII Golf GTI, cosseting adjustable dampers and an explosive 206kW all-claw drivetrain mean the Golf R crosses country better than light aircraft.

LOWLIGHTS

• Abarth 595C Competizione – Rorty soundtrack fails to compensate for the severe lack of logic: slow steering match to the turning circle of a planet in a light city car? Need to be a serious fan of the brand to stump up such cash.
• Peugeot 208 GTi – Not a terrible car. Mentioned because it’s a shame it didn’t woo me like I wish it would have. Strong engine, classy package, but just doesn’t try hard enough to win your heart.
• Mini Cooper S – A great platform in dire need of aesthetic and handling venom. Proper tyres and soon to be released JCW package couldn’t come sooner.

Curt Dupriez – Road Test Editor

HIGHLIGHTS

• Porsche 911 Turbo – Point-to-point, the quickest, most startling yet friendliest car I’ve driven this year, wrapping in a want-for-nothing package of all-round excellence.
• Ford Mustang GT Performance Pack – over-delivers performance against muscle car traditions, proper feel-good vibe and a genuine bright light on the horizon for Aussie lovers of V8s in an otherwise dim outlook
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class – Even in basic C200 spec the everyman Merc raised the bar in one of the world’s toughest segments in so many areas that all other comers (Audi, BMW, Lexus, et al) are now forced to lift their games.
• Ferrari F12 Berlinetta – Ah yes, that multi-day punt in the ultimate Italian super GT ranks as one of my most enjoyable drives of all time.
• Porsche Macan Diesel – Hands-down best small SUV, in fast, fun and affordable yet highly frugal oiler form, brings so much holistic goodness to a segment in desperate need of Macan’s fun factor and all-round quality.

• Maserati Quattroporte – Smart styling can’t save the limo that robs Chrysler’s parts bin so obviously, lacks modern features, rides/steers poorly, is overpriced and so obviously aimed at young, cashed-up and clueless poseurs.
• HSV Maloo GTS – Despite good buzz factor the driving experience is far less than the sum of its heroics specifications and under-delivers both as a performance prospect or as a workhorse.
• Ford Ranger ute – Not MOTOR fodder, but I’m a big fan of progressive new-school diesel tech and the agricultural Ranger (as sampled in manual 4×4 form) does nothing to dispel the widespread stigma of oiler’s rattly old-school traditions.

TOYOTA might be popping the champagne corks after winning the 2014 sales race, but not every carmaker succeeded in Australia last year. In fact some, like Great Wall, failed. Miserably.

The Chinese company moved just 2637 cars in 2014, a drastic 56.8 percent drop from its efforts in 2013. Every variant in Great Wall’s six-model range was down, but it’s far from the only cellar-dwelling Chinese manufacturer.

Chery, which held the title of selling Australia’s cheapest car, the $9990 J1, until it was axed after failing to meet new safety laws, endured a dismal 2014 to move just 592 vehicles, a drop of 34.4 percent.

American brand Chrysler was a fellow 2014 loser, with its two-car range down 38.1 percent after Australians bought just 77 Voyagers (down 54.2 percent) and 1580 300s (down 37.0 percent).

Suzuki also endured a tough 2014, selling 17,422 cars, a drop of 21.1 percent, thanks to poor efforts from the Alto, Kizashi and Jimny.

There’s no escaping the fact that Nissan’s premium arm Infiniti is still failing to fire, with its 441 sales only marginally ahead of luxury brands Bentley, Ferrari and Aston Martin. Still, at least Infiniti is growing (up 45.1 percent), if from a small base.

On the local front, Ford was the biggest loser in 2014, down 8.6 percent overall, but it’s the Blue Oval’s passenger sales (down 24.5 percent) that are most worrying. All of Ford’s passenger cars lost ground in 2014, spearheaded by the Falcon, which dropped 40.2 percent.

Nissan’s passenger range failed, too, finishing down 29.8 percent, while its range overall fell 14 percent.

It’s no surprise that, based purely on sales numbers, high-end boutique brands such as McLaren, Morgan and Rolls-Royce are among Australia’s least popular brands, but they’re hardly losers…

Australia’s smallest movers:

SALES of Chinese-made cars fell substantially in 2014 – down 41.4 percent – as private buyers shopped elsewhere.

Great Wall sales fell a whopping 56.8 percent to 2637 compared to 6105 in 2013. None of its models posted sales growth, all posting declines of more than 50 per cent.

Fellow Chinese brand Chery dropped 34.4 percent, moving only 592 vehicles against the previous year’s 903. Its most popular model, the J3 – a Hyundai i30-size small car priced from $14,990 – sold 292 units, well down on its 2013 result of 468.

Great Wall importer Ateco cites currency fluctuation for the Chinese brands losing their former price advantage, and subsequent sales dip. “We are suffering because of increased competitive pressure and the depreciation of the yen that has eroded what was a great advatage,” says Ateco’s Daniel Cotterill. “As well, Great Wall hasn’t been as quick as they’d like – or we’d like – in updating its right-hand drive models.”

The commercial sector saw the only good news for Chinese makes. Foton Heavy sold 174 vehicles against 84 in 2013 for a 107.1 percent growth, while Foton Light, its passenger-car division, sold 537 cars in its first full year on sale.

Several Chinese brands sold in Australia aren’t represented in the official VFACTS sales figures release by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, including Geely and ZX Auto.

Australians continue to purchase more cars from Japan than anywhere else, with Japanese models making up almost one-third (329,009) of all new cars sold in 2014. However, this was 9.1 percent fewer than in 2013.

Thailand was next with 226,936 vehicles (down 0.7 percent) while South Korean cars accounted for 130,777 sales (down 3.1 percent).

Australia manufactured 100,468 cars sold last year (down 15.2 percent), with Holden’s 54,299 more than Ford’s 18,962 and Toyota’s 27,207 combined.

THE Holden Commodore defied a sales trend away from Australian-made cars to post a surprise 8.8 percent sales increase in 2014.

This was quite a contrast to the massive declines posted by other locally produced vehicles as the automotive manufacturing industry gears up to shut its doors by the end of 2017.

For the first time, cars produced locally made up fewer than one in ten sales last year.

While Commodore posted 30,203 sales, Ford managed to sell a mere 6349 Falcons – the car’s worst ever result, down 40.2 percent on the previous year – while the Territory SUV was also a sales flop, down 31.1 percent.

The locally produced Camry (down 11.3 percent), Aurion (down 24.5 percent) and Holden Cruze (down 24.0 percent) also posted disappointing results.

The industry dropped by 2.0 percent, but it was still the second-biggest car market on record, helped by relatively buoyant December sales of 96,809 cars, a drop of just 0.1 percent compared with December 2013.

Much of the sales drop for the year was attributable to the mining downturn, with the resource-heavy states of Western Australia (down 8.1 percent) and Queensland (down 4.1 percent) accounting for 86 percent of the 23,003 fewer sales compared with 2013.

Sales of regular passenger cars – sedans, wagons and hatchbacks – continued to drop as SUVs picked up the slack. Having accounted for three-quarters of all new-vehicle sales for two decades, passenger vehicles now account for just 47.8 percent of the market.

SUVs – which include off-roaders and city-focused high-riding wagons made to look rugged – continue their stratospheric sales rise, now accounting for a record 31.7 percent of sales. The 352,347 SUV sales in 2014 represents a 5.6 percent increase on the previous year.

Toyota was the top-selling automotive brand for the 12th consecutive year, but its sales continue to slide in an increasingly fragmented market.

The Japanese brand sold 203,501 cars in 2014, a drop of 11,129.

Each of the top three brands – Toyota, Holden and Mazda – shed market share as rivals such as Hyundai grew.

TOYOTA is once again Australia’s most popular car brand after it topped the official sales charts in 2014.

But if Toyota’s dominance is no surprise – this is the Japanese brand’s 12th consecutive year as number one – Hyundai’s surge into podium contention is.

Hyundai was the big winner in 2014, notching an impressive 100,011 deliveries to exceed its 2013 sales by 3.1 percent and set the stage for it to overtake current podium sitters Holden and Mazda next year.

Hyundai’s growth comes in an overall market that was down 2.0 percent for 2014, with Australians buying 1,113,224 cars last year – 23,003 fewer than 2013’s record-breaking tally.

Subaru is the only other brand to have increased sales in 2014, up 0.8 percent thanks to strong performances from Impreza, XV and the new WRX.

Overall, there’s no escaping Toyota’s dominance, with its 203,501 sales (thanks mostly to huge Corolla, Camry and Hilux volumes) almost doubling its nearest rival Holden, which moved 106,092 units in 2014 to be down 5.3 percent year on year.

Other notable movers in 2014 were Mercedes-Benz and Jeep, which both recorded impressive growth, 15.8 percent and 37.2 percent respectively, to sit just outside the Top 10.

Fellow luxury brands Audi (up 20.0 percent) and BMW (up 10.7 percent) also experienced growth.

Renault enjoyed a welcome return to form thanks to a sales spike (more than 300 percent) of its new Clio small car to finish 2014 up 42.7 percent overall, cracking the 10,000 sales barrier by 14 units.

HYUNDAI finished the 2014 sales race strongly to bite at the heels of third-placed Mazda, going to the wire only 693 cars behind the Japanese car maker.

The roaring finish saw the South Korean maker land its best sales result in Australia.

Its 100,011 result means it was one of only four brands to sell more than 100,000 cars here, joining Toyota (203,501), Holden (106,092) and Mazda (100,704).

It was one of only two brands in the top ten to post sales growth in 2014, with sales up 3.1 percent. The second was ninth-placed Subaru, which grew 0.8 percent.

“We’re doing very well with i30 and ix35,” Hyundai Australia spokesperson Bill Thomas told Wheels.

The i30 small car is the brand’s bestseller and the ix35 – which is due for replacement in 2015 – is the brand’s next-best performer, with sales bolstered in 2014 by the decision to improve supply by sourcing the SUV not just from Korea, but also from the Czech Republic.

“The decision to source the ix35 from Europe basically doubled our sales overnight,” Thomas said.

Hyundai’s light-car offering, the Accent, the largest car in its segment, also posted strong growth (up 27 percent) while the brand’s commercial vehicles also strengthened. “We can’t get enough of iLoad,” Thomas told Wheels.

This year looks even more ominous for Hyundai’s rivals, with the i30 due to be updated, joining a new ix35 and new Sonata (to replace i45), as well as refreshed Veloster, i40 and Accent models.