Medium SUV sales and share in Australia almost doubled over the past decade, as buyers abandoned traditional passenger-car segments at a rate of knots.
Australians took delivery of around 1.74 million new medium SUVs over the past 10 years, across the mainstream and luxury segments.
Annualised mid-sized SUV sales spiked from 119,464 units in 2013 to a record 216,151 units in 2022, with each increase coming steadily despite two years of COVID-related stock shortages.
This equates to growth in medium SUV market share from 10.5 per cent to 20.0 per cent – sufficient to make this the most popular of all vehicle segments last year, ahead of 4×4 utes.
This near-doubling is explained by the fact the new car market has actually failed to grow over the past decade.
Market-wide sales tallied in 2013 (1,136,227) were actually 4.8 per cent greater than what we saw moved across 2022 (1,081,429), the year in which medium SUVs set their high-water mark.
As you’d expect, the dramatic increase in medium SUV uptake has attracted a raft of new nameplates over the past decade, adding competitiveness. However the majority of these new products sit within the high-margin luxury end of the market.
Between 2013 and 2022, the number of individual medium SUV nameplates classified as mainstream (VFACTS calls them Medium SUV < $60,000) on sale only oscillated between 17 nameplates and 24 nameplates.
Core vehicles in this segment include top-sellers such as the Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan X-Trail, and Volkswagen Tiguan – among myriad others.
But over the same period, the number of luxury medium SUV nameplates (dubbed Medium SUV > $60,000 in VFACTS) over the same 10-year period spiked from just five offerings in 2013, to 20 offerings in 2022.
Core vehicles in this segment include the Mercedes-Benz GLC, BMW X3, Audi Q5, Volvo XC60, and Lexus NX.
We’ve also collated annual sales since 2013 to find out what the top-selling medium SUVs are. The results are, to be honest, not that surprising.
Top 20 Medium SUVs 2013-22 – mainstream
- Toyota RAV4: 249,739
- Mazda CX-5: 242,952
- Nissan X-Trail: 156,106
- Mitsubishi Outlander: 138,185
- Hyundai Tucson: 134,715
- Subaru Forester: 127,504
- Kia Sportage: 108,691
- Honda CR-V: 102,742
- Volkswagen Tiguan: 82,857
- Renault Koleos: 21,833
- MG HS: 20,485
- Ford Escape: 18,978
- Ford Kuga: 18,747
- Holden Captiva 5: 17,896
- Jeep Cherokee: 15,722
- Haval H6: 14,609
- Holden Equinox: 12,032
- Suzuki Grand Vitara: 11,174
- Peugeot 3008: 6181
- Skoda Karoq: 5531
Top 20 Medium SUVs 2013-22 – luxury
- BMW X3/X4: 49,494
- Mercedes-Benz GLC/GLC Coupe: 40,213
- Audi Q5: 35,605
- Lexus NX: 27,759
- Volvo XC60: 25,246
- Range Rover Evoque: 19,470
- Land Rover Discovery Sport: 18,774
- Porsche Macan: 18,560
- Tesla Model Y: 8717
- Mercedes-Benz GLB: 6317
Medium SUV sales and share 2013-22
| Year | Sales | Share % |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 216,151 | 20 |
| 2021 | 180,165 | 17.2 |
| 2020 | 179,722 | 19.6 |
| 2019 | 203,233 | 19.1 |
| 2018 | 206,450 | 17.9 |
| 2017 | 195,655 | 16.5 |
| 2016 | 172,194 | 14.6 |
| 2015 | 144,937 | 12.5 |
| 2014 | 125,222 | 11.2 |
| 2013 | 119,464 | 10.5 |
Medium SUV number of nameplates 2013-22
| Year | Mainstream | Luxury |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22 | 20 |
| 2021 | 20 | 16 |
| 2020 | 22 | 13 |
| 2019 | 24 | 14 |
| 2018 | 20 | 13 |
| 2017 | 21 | 12 |
| 2016 | 21 | 11 |
| 2015 | 18 | 9 |
| 2014 | 17 | 7 |
| 2013 | 20 | 5 |
