VFACTS June 2023: HiLux holds strong, Model Y EV outsells Ranger

The Australian car market continues to improve in 2023, with the best June result since 2018 posted last month.

According to official new-car sales results published by the Federal Chamber of Automobile Industries (FCAI), 124,926 vehicles were registered in June – up 25% from last June, when 99,974 cars were sold.

As electric vehicle sales continue to grow, the Tesla Model Y overtook the popular Ford Ranger ute to become the nation’s second-highest car overall – but the Toyota HiLux held strong at the top of the podium.

While Toyota is still number one in Australia, it remains hindered by delivery delays for some of its most popular vehicles – although it continues to recover after a slower-than-usual start to 2023.

In June, Toyota sold 20,948 vehicles – down 7.1% – while electric car brand Tesla rose to sixth place, beating MG, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Subaru and more. Year-to-date, it remains in ninth place with further growth likely.

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Where is the sales growth coming from?

New South Wales registered the most vehicles with 37,020 sales, ahead of Victoria and Queensland with 33,966 and 28,029 sales, respectively.

Western Australia (13,073), South Australia (7974), Tasmania (1923), the ACT (1856), and the Northern Territory (1085) followed.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said continued sales growth was encouraging as the automotive industry continues to battle production and shipping difficulties.

It also praised rising electrified vehicle sales (all-electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid), which accounted for 16.6% of sales in June.

“The end of the financial year has traditionally been a strong month for vehicle sales,” said FCAI chief executive Tony Weber.

“Indications from our members are that demand for new vehicles remains solid, but the supply is not yet at a point to meet this demand. To put it simply, if we could have landed more vehicles, this would have been a record June result."

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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 June 2023

The first-place battle between the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger was broken in June by a new contender: the all-electric Tesla Model Y.

In first place, the HiLux pulled away from the Ranger with 6142 sales – down from its June 2022 record of 7582, but one of its strongest results to date as the financial year closed.

The Model Y took silver with a record 5560 sales – pushing its year-to-date results to more than 14,000 – while the Ranger followed in third place (5334).

Of note, the Ford Ranger is up 90% compared to last June, but this is due to a lack of stock this time last year as Ford prepared for the current model to launch in July. The Ranger is up 35% year-to-date.

As strong global demand continues to limit the Toyota RAV4’s potential (2858), it was outsold by China’s MG ZS small SUV (3756), with the Hyundai Tucson closely behind (2667).

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The Mazda BT-50 was the nation’s seventh best-seller (2560), followed by the Hyundai i30 (2523), the only passenger vehicle in the top 10 in June and year-to-date.

In ninth and 10th place were the Isuzu D-Max (2500) and Mitsubishi Triton (2259), as ute sales hold strong – but midsize SUVs remain Australia’s top-selling vehicle segment.

Traditionally strong vehicles missing from the top 10 include the Mazda CX-5 (1812) and Mitsubishi Outlander (1624), while the electric BYD Atto 3 (1532) eclipsed the Tesla Model 3 sedan (1458).

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In tables: Top 10 models for June 2023

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

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🥇 Australia’s top 10 car brands for June 2023

Ups and downs 🔼 🔽

Toyota recorded a solid month with 20,948 sales (▼ from 22,561 in June 2023). The Japanese brand’s year-to-date sales are down 24% at 92,235, representing 15.9% of the market.

Mazda finished second with 9706 sales (▲ from 6245), while Hyundai beat Ford with 8215 sales (▼ from 8259).

Ford, in fourth, recorded 7753 sales in June (▲ from 4972, in the midst of a Ranger changeover), while Kia took fifth with 7551 sales (▼ from 8480).

Year-to-date, Kia remains ahead of its Hyundai parent, with 39,160 sales – though Hyundai is nipping at its heels at 37,707 to the end of June.

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Electric car brand Tesla posted a record result, with 7018 sales (▲ from just 172) from skyrocketing demand for the Model Y and Model 3.

Chinese marque MG followed in seventh with 6016 sales (▲ from 4403), thanks to the ZS and MG 3.

Mitsubishi slipped to eighth with 5187 sales (▼ from 5846), Volkswagen ranked ninth with 5125 sales (▲ from 2993) with T-Roc, Tiguan and Amarok supply, and Subaru finished off the top 10 with 4920 sales (▲ from 3575) with its Forester and new Crosstrek in the top 20 models.

Nissan, one of Australia’s well-known brands, faced a horror June, with 2759 sales (still ▲ from 1907 in June 2022), leaving it in 16th place behind Great Wall-Haval (GWM), Isuzu Ute, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and LDV.

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In tables: Top 10 brands for June 2023

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

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And the rest…

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Size & Shape: Market segment results for June

SUVs, utes and vans represented 78% of the total new-car market in June.

There were 69,059 SUVs sold from light to upper large, taking 55% of the total, followed by utes and vans with 28,833 sales in June, or 23%.

Of those, midsize SUVs continue to dominate with 28,260 sales, followed by small and large SUVs with 17,697 and 15,339 sales, respectively.

Passenger car sales continued to decline, with 20,397 sales in June – with a 16.3% share, down 2.1% from June 2022.

Small cars represented 6.1% of the total market, while growth in the medium segment to 3.7% – up 1.3% – can be attributed to the Tesla Model 3 electric sedan, as internal-combustion medium car sales continue to decline.

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

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June 2023: New-car sales by fuel type

Petrol remained the default choice for Australian new-car buyers, with a 17% bump over last June to 59,995 sales.

Diesel was second best – up 6% with 37,497 sales – while electric vehicle sales continue to rise with 11,042 sales, up a significant 871% compared to last June and 345% year-to-date.

Electric vehicles outsold traditional hybrid (9020) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (735), and no new hydrogen vehicles were registered in June or year-to-date.

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

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

Japan remains Australia's number one source of new cars followed by Thailand, while Chinese cars continue to outsell Korea in third place.

Australian new-car buyers drove away in 30,112 Japanese cars in June, up from 25,909 at the same time in 2022.

Thailand – where most utes and ladder-frame SUVs are produced – followed with 25,063 cars (▲ from 22,707).

China remains in third spot ahead of Korea (23,233 compared to 17,227), as Australians look to more-affordable options and electric vehicles solely built in China including Tesla, BYD, Polestar, MG, and the BMW iX3.

Germany trailed in fifth with 6226 registrations last month, followed by undefined countries (5234) and the United States (4784).

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In charts 📊

June 2023 – Top 20 models

June 2023 – Top 10 brands

June 2023 - Overall segment sales

June 2023 - Category sales

June 2023 - sales map

June 2023 - buyer type

June 2023 - Model sales race