VFACTS April 2023: Strong RAV4, Model Y, Outlander sales see medium SUVs reign supreme

According to official sales results from the Federal Chamber of Automobile Industries (FCAI), the Australian new car market has continued improving in 2023.

Australians bought 82,137 new cars in April, up 1.1 per cent from last April. Year-to-date, 351,139 new cars have found a home – a 1.3 per cent increase on 2022.

Various manufacturers continue to be affected by delivery delays, including Kia with its Sportage medium SUV. This has been offset by improvements elsewhere, for example, Volkswagen finding its feet posting 500+ per cent increases for the Tiguan and Tiguan Allspace compared to last year.

Electric and electrified vehicles continue to grow in popularity as more models come to market, and supply restrictions ease for certain carmakers.

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“Electric vehicles accounted for 8 per cent of sales in April. This is well up from 1.1 per cent compared with April 2022,” said FCAI chief executive, Tony Weber.

"If you take all forms of electrification, that number has increased from 9.5 per cent to 15.4 per cent, and we know that this number would have been larger had the industry not faced global supply challenges."

Weber also noted that 50 per cent of the models in the top 10 offer electrification in some form, be that hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or battery-electric.

New South Wales registered the most vehicles with 25,040 sales, ahead of Victoria and Queensland with 22,226 and 18,188 sales, respectively.

Western Australia (8303), South Australia (5087), Tasmania (1271), the ACT (1261), and the Northern Territory (761) followed.

Jump ahead

• Top 10 models
• Top 10 brands
• Sales by segment
• Sales by fuel type
• Sales by country of origin
• Sales in charts

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🥇 Australia’s top 10 cars for April 2023

Is it surprising that the Ford Ranger (3567) and Toyota HiLux (3526) again topped the overall sales in April?

The answer is no, but there does seem to be a shift in the market this month as ute sales have fallen by 8.4 per cent compared to April last year, while medium SUV sales are up 20 per cent.

The Toyota RAV4 was back on form this month, taking third place with 2198 registrations, though its weak performance earlier in the year places it in fifth year-to-date. Another medium SUV made it into the top five, though this time, it's the electric Tesla Model Y (2095).

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After last month's dearth of passenger cars, the Hyundai i30 performed strongly in fifth (2029), followed by a strong showing from the Mitsubishi Outlander (up 68 per cent compared to last April) and the Isuzu D-Max ute (down three per cent).

Rounding out the top 10 were the Hyundai Tucson medium SUV (1678), MG ZS small SUV (1588), and the Tesla Model 3 (1581). Despite a slower month in April, the electric Model 3 holds an established third place year-to-date, 447 sales ahead of the D-Max.

Surprise absentees from April's top-10 include the Mazda CX-5 (13th, 1243 sales) and Kia Sportage (22nd, 859 sales). However, the new Nissan X-Trail is finding its ground, up 31 per cent year-to-date this month with 1076 sales.

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In tables: Top 10 models for April 2023

In tables: Top 10 model year-to-date 2023

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🥇 Australia’s top 10 car brands for April 2023

Ups and downs 🔼 🔽

For top-seller Toyota, April was even slower than last month, with 12,029 sales notched up for the Japanese giant (▼ from 17,956 this time last year).

Mazda (6926, ▼ from 7378) and Kia (6200, ▲ from 6180) aren't exactly snapping at heels, but Toyota's performance is a long way shy of the circa-20,000 monthly figure we're used to from the brand – it's down 30 per cent so far this year (▼ from 76,003 YTD 2022).

Hyundai secured a solid fourth place in April with 5732 sales (▲ from 5552), though it still remains behind Ford in year-to-date figures. Ford sold 5047 vehicles for fifth place in April (▲ from 4974) driven mainly by the Ranger ute and Everest SUV.

Mitsubishi scored a safe sixth spot, but its mostly aging line-up (apart from the strong-selling Outlander) saw the Japanese carmaker down 31 per cent on April last year at 4440 registrations.

Tesla followed in seventh with 3676 sales, leading MG (3463, ▼ from 4773).

Two friendly faces poked back into the top 10 this month, with Nissan – bolstered by the all-new X-Trail and Qashqai – up 47 per cent (3009, ▲ from 2050) and Volkswagen's stock woes easing for a massive 72 per cent growth in April (2957, ▲ from 1721), enough to displace Isuzu from the leaderboard.

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In tables: Top 10 brands for April 2023

In tables: Top 10 brands year-to-date 2023

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And the rest…

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Size and Shape: Market segment results for April

2023 is the year of the medium SUV.

This segment proved the most popular vehicle type in April, increasing its lead with 20 per cent more sales in April, and 19 per cent year-to-date.

Utes followed, but both 4x4 and 4x2 categories posted declines compared to last year. A sign of things to come? Perhaps. Small SUVs were up for the month of April, and while passenger cars generally posted declines, there are a few morsels of hope.

Tesla's Model 3 was instrumental in dragging up medium passenger car sales by 65 per cent, though the Polestar 2 and BMW 3 Series also helped last month. Sports car sales climbed 47 per cent in April, with the BMW 2 Series, Subaru BRZ and Chevrolet Corvette all contributing.

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In tables: New car sales by segment and size for April 2023

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New-car sales by fuel type in April 2023

Petrol remained the default choice for Australian new-car buyers, with a steady 1 per cent bump over last April. Diesel was next most prominent, though its share fell a whole 20 per cent last month, while electric car sales boomed with an 87 per cent increase on last year.

Electric vehicles again outsold hybrid (5592) and plug-in hybrid vehicles combined (545), and no new hydrogen vehicles were registered in April or year-to-date.

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In tables: New car sales by fuel type for April 2023

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Country of Origin: Where Australia’s new cars came from in April 2023

Japan remains Australia's number one producer of new cars, with 22,304 sales last month.

It's followed by Thailand (15,886) – where most utes and ladder-frame SUVs are produced.

China has secured third spot ahead of Korea (13,426 plays 12,952) and Germany trailed in fifth with 4039 registrations last month.

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In charts 📊

April 2023 – Top 20 models

April 2023 – Top 10 brands

April 2023 - Overall segment sales

April 2023 - Category sales

April 2023 - sales map

April 2023 - buyer type

April 2023 - Model sales race