The Ford Ranger sports a third crown in as many months in Australia.
New vehicle sales in Australia edge up 1.8% year-on-year in February to 86,878 units, leading to a year-to-date tally up 6.5% to 171,751. This is the best February result since 2019. This relatively strong result could have been a lot better were it not for huge bottlenecks at quarantine in Australian ports and at sea. As of 8 February, two-dozen car-carrying ships were waiting to offload an estimated total of 60,000 vehicles as these needed to be treated by biosecurity for seeds and pests. Private sales are down -3.1% to 45,422 units, business sales are up 6.6% to 30,368, sales to rental companies are up 7% to 4,669 and government fleets edge down -0.8% to 2,344.
As for sales by state and territory, New South Wales is up 4.7% to 27,600, Victoria is down -1.3% to 21,894, Queensland down -2.8% to 18,427, Western Australia up a whopping 16.7% to 9,815, South Australia down -4.5% to 5,549, Australian Capital Territory up 7.2% to 1,454, Tasmania off -9.4% to 1,414 and Northern Territory up 2.8% to 725. SUVs are up 6.6% to 47,888 and 55.1% share vs. 52.7% a year ago and 50.8% in February 2021, light commercials sink -13.6% to 18,750 and 21.6% share vs. 25.4% last year and 23% two years ago and passenger cars for once improve 4.8% to 16.435 and 18.9% share vs. 18.4% a year ago and 22.8% in 2021. Petrol is up 2% to 44,528, diesel down -10.8% to 26,443, BEV up 889% to 5,932 (2022 figures excluded Tesla), hybrid down -29.8% to 5,716 and PHEV up 48.9% to 454.
First Top 5 finish for the Mitsubishi Outlander in Australia.
In the brands ranking, Toyota (-31.4%) is hit full frontal by stock shortages and quarantine issues but easily remains on top with 16.5% share. In fact the Top 10 order is unchanged on January, with Mazda (-12.7%) at #2 and Ford (+30.6%), brilliantly lodging the best performance in the Top 10, completing the podium. Kia (+2%) is once again above sister brand Hyundai (-2.6%), and is followed by MG (+15.8%) still gearing up. Subaru (+28.7%) is very solid at #8 while Tesla and Isuzu Ute (+13.3%) round out the Top 10. Below, Volkswagen (+65.9%) catches up on a particularly drab year-ago volume and GWM (+188.4%), Audi (+126.4%), LDV (+48.3%) and Skoda (+52.1%) impress. Newcomer BYD is up to #21.
Model-wise, the Ford Ranger (+29.5%) continues to surf on the success of the new generation and ranks first for the third month in a row. It outsells its archenemy the Toyota Hilux (-18%) and its victory is even more pronounced in the lucrative 4×4 pickup segment at 3,782 vs. 2,877. The Tesla Model 3 repeats at an outstanding third place while the Mazda CX-5 (+105.5%) more than doubles its sales year-on-year to reclaim the SUV crown at #4 overall. This is however partly due to harsh stock constraints for the Toyota RAV4 (-52.5%) down to #6 this month. The Mitsubishi Outlander (+29.5%) is up four spots on last month to #5 which is a new ranking record for the nameplate. The MG ZS (+4.8%) and Isuzu D-Max (+0.1%) follow just as the Subaru Forester (+35.9%) score its first Top 10 finish since January 2022 and the MG 3 (+12.9%) rounds out the Top 10.
Previous month: Australia January 2023: Ford Ranger #1, Tesla Model 3 #3 in market up 11.9% to best January in 5 years
One year ago: First market uptick in 5 months (+1.6%), Mitsubishi Triton, MG ZS and Mazda CX-30 break records
Full February 2023 Top 47 all brands and Top 30 models below.
Australia February 2023 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Feb-23 | % | /22 | Jan | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Toyota | 14,332 | 16.5% | -31.4% | 1 | 27,695 | 16.1% | -23.5% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Mazda | 7,667 | 8.8% | -12.7% | 2 | 17,074 | 9.9% | -8.1% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Ford | 6,022 | 6.9% | 30.6% | 3 | 12,646 | 7.4% | 38.4% | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Kia | 6,000 | 6.9% | 2.0% | 4 | 12,006 | 7.0% | 5.3% | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | Hyundai | 5,504 | 6.3% | -2.6% | 5 | 11,313 | 6.6% | 5.0% | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Mitsubishi | 5,500 | 6.3% | -29.6% | 6 | 10,776 | 6.3% | -24.9% | 6 | 4 |
| 7 | MG | 4,363 | 5.0% | 15.8% | 7 | 8,378 | 4.9% | 14.7% | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Subaru | 4,054 | 4.7% | 28.7% | 8 | 7,655 | 4.5% | 30.3% | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Tesla | 3,516 | 4.0% | n/a | 9 | 6,829 | 4.0% | n/a | 9 | 16 |
| 10 | Isuzu Ute | 3,156 | 3.6% | 13.3% | 10 | 5,827 | 3.4% | 5.9% | 10 | 9 |
| 11 | Volkswagen | 2,930 | 3.4% | 65.9% | 11 | 5,472 | 3.2% | 66.2% | 11 | 11 |
| 12 | Nissan | 2,573 | 3.0% | -8.8% | 13 | 5,021 | 2.9% | -2.6% | 12 | 12 |
| 13 | GWM | 2,353 | 2.7% | 188.4% | 12 | 4,856 | 2.8% | 145.4% | 13 | 13 |
| 14 | Mercedes | 1,807 | 2.1% | 21.9% | 14 | 3,918 | 2.3% | -3.0% | 14 | 10 |
| 15 | Audi | 1,680 | 1.9% | 126.4% | 18 | 3,033 | 1.8% | 98.5% | 16 | 18 |
| 16 | LDV | 1,652 | 1.9% | 48.3% | 16 | 3,075 | 1.8% | 42.0% | 15 | 17 |
| 17 | Suzuki | 1,382 | 1.6% | 9.2% | 17 | 2,792 | 1.6% | 4.3% | 17 | 15 |
| 18 | Honda | 1,228 | 1.4% | -12.8% | 19 | 2,331 | 1.4% | -9.7% | 19 | 19 |
| 19 | BMW | 1,047 | 1.2% | -47.1% | 15 | 2,527 | 1.5% | -28.7% | 18 | 14 |
| 20 | Volvo | 858 | 1.0% | 0.5% | 20 | 1,720 | 1.0% | 8.9% | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | BYD | 770 | 0.9% | new | 29 | 1,037 | 0.6% | new | 24 | 31 |
| 22 | Lexus | 716 | 0.8% | 1.6% | 23 | 1,218 | 0.7% | -1.2% | 23 | 22 |
| 23 | Skoda | 645 | 0.7% | 52.1% | 22 | 1,324 | 0.8% | 75.6% | 21 | 24 |
| 24 | Porsche | 614 | 0.7% | 7.5% | 26 | 996 | 0.6% | 17.7% | 25 | 26 |
| 25 | Renault | 569 | 0.7% | -44.1% | 21 | 1,285 | 0.7% | -22.7% | 22 | 21 |
| 26 | Ram | 547 | 0.6% | 80.5% | 25 | 956 | 0.6% | 91.6% | 26 | 25 |
| 27 | Ssangyong | 474 | 0.5% | 86.6% | 24 | 938 | 0.5% | 85.0% | 27 | 28 |
| 28 | Jeep | 392 | 0.5% | -40.0% | 27 | 699 | 0.4% | -36.4% | 28 | 23 |
| 29 | Chevrolet | 215 | 0.2% | 39.6% | 30 | 456 | 0.3% | 66.4% | 29 | 30 |
| 30 | Cupra | 211 | 0.2% | new | 34 | 359 | 0.2% | new | 31 | 35 |
| 31 | Mini | 186 | 0.2% | -47.9% | 28 | 455 | 0.3% | -9.5% | 30 | 29 |
| 32 | Polestar | 172 | 0.2% | new | 32 | 336 | 0.2% | new | 32 | 33 |
| 33 | Fiat | 155 | 0.2% | 26.0% | 33 | 319 | 0.2% | 31.3% | 33 | 34 |
| 34 | Land Rover | 132 | 0.2% | -4.3% | 31 | 312 | 0.2% | -34.6% | 34 | 27 |
| 35 | Peugeot | 113 | 0.1% | -38.3% | 35 | 226 | 0.1% | -38.4% | 35 | 32 |
| 36 | Genesis | 110 | 0.1% | 46.7% | 36 | 216 | 0.1% | 39.4% | 36 | 36 |
| 37 | Bentley | 45 | 0.1% | 104.5% | – | 45 | 0.0% | 66.7% | 39 | 41 |
| 38 | Alfa Romeo | 30 | 0.0% | -46.4% | 38 | 59 | 0.0% | -41.6% | 37 | 39 |
| 39 | Maserati | 25 | 0.0% | -43.2% | 40 | 38 | 0.0% | -56.8% | 41 | 38 |
| 40 | Jaguar | 22 | 0.0% | -35.3% | 37 | 55 | 0.0% | -17.9% | 38 | 37 |
| 41 | Ferrari | 22 | 0.0% | 29.4% | 39 | 39 | 0.0% | 5.4% | 40 | 42 |
| 42 | Lamborghini | 15 | 0.0% | 7.1% | 41 | 25 | 0.0% | 66.7% | 42 | 43 |
| 43 | Lotus | 13 | 0.0% | -43.5% | 43 | 23 | 0.0% | -34.3% | 43 | 46 |
| 44 | Citroen | 13 | 0.0% | -60.6% | 44 | 21 | 0.0% | -66.1% | 44 | 40 |
| 45 | Aston Martin | 10 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 45 | 13 | 0.0% | -23.5% | 46 | 44 |
| 46 | McLaren | 4 | 0.0% | 300.0% | 42 | 14 | 0.0% | 180.0% | 45 | 47 |
| 47 | Rolls-Royce | 1 | 0.0% | -90.0% | 46 | 3 | 0.0% | -70.0% | 47 | 48 |
Australia February 2023 – models:
| Pos | Model | Feb-23 | % | /22 | Jan | 2023 | % | /21 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Ford Ranger | 4,473 | 5.1% | 29.5% | 1 | 9,222 | 5.4% | 37.6% | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Toyota Hilux | 3,939 | 4.5% | -18.0% | 2 | 8,070 | 4.7% | -3.9% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Tesla Model 3 | 2,671 | 3.1% | n/a | 3 | 5,598 | 3.3% | n/a | 3 | 27 |
| 4 | Mazda CX-5 | 2,600 | 3.0% | 105.5% | 5 | 4,789 | 2.8% | 6.9% | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 2,166 | 2.5% | 29.5% | 9 | 3,840 | 2.2% | 26.9% | 7 | 11 |
| 6 | Toyota RAV4 | 2,115 | 2.4% | -52.5% | 6 | 4,073 | 2.4% | -30.7% | 5 | 3 |
| 7 | MG ZS | 2,047 | 2.4% | 4.8% | 8 | 3,889 | 2.3% | 9.8% | 6 | 8 |
| 8 | Isuzu D-Max | 1,931 | 2.2% | 0.1% | 7 | 3,774 | 2.2% | -1.3% | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Subaru Forester | 1,709 | 2.0% | 35.9% | 13 | 3,079 | 1.8% | 12.5% | 11 | 28 |
| 10 | MG 3 | 1,622 | 1.9% | 12.9% | 14 | 2,970 | 1.7% | -0.6% | 13 | 14 |
| 11 | Hyundai Tucson | 1,556 | 1.8% | 112.9% | 10 | 3,171 | 1.8% | 110.6% | 10 | 13 |
| 12 | Hyundai i30 | 1,416 | 1.6% | -19.4% | 12 | 2,981 | 1.7% | -12.3% | 12 | 9 |
| 13 | Mitsubishi Triton | 1,381 | 1.6% | -63.8% | 16 | 2,634 | 1.5% | -60.6% | 14 | 4 |
| 14 | Mazda BT-50 | 1,240 | 1.4% | -23.8% | 15 | 2,560 | 1.5% | -10.2% | 15 | 17 |
| 15 | Subaru Outback | 1,233 | 1.4% | 147.6% | 30 | 2,025 | 1.2% | 173.3% | 22 | 31 |
| 16 | Isuzu MU-X | 1,225 | 1.4% | 43.3% | 26 | 2,053 | 1.2% | 22.6% | 21 | 25 |
| 17 | Toyota Corolla | 1,214 | 1.4% | -27.3% | 19 | 2,330 | 1.4% | -25.2% | 17 | 6 |
| 18 | Kia Carnival | 1,136 | 1.3% | 150.2% | 22 | 2,165 | 1.3% | 128.1% | 19 | 42 |
| 19 | Toyota Prado | 1,123 | 1.3% | -59.6% | 18 | 2,305 | 1.3% | -56.9% | 18 | 10 |
| 20 | Toyota Kluger | 1,104 | 1.3% | 66.3% | 34 | 1,785 | 1.0% | 90.7% | 25 | 19 |
| 21 | Mazda CX-3 | 1,046 | 1.2% | -28.6% | 4 | 3,463 | 2.0% | 46.1% | 9 | 21 |
| 22 | Kia Sorento | 1,045 | 1.2% | 170.0% | 21 | 2,088 | 1.2% | 272.9% | 20 | 45 |
| 23 | Toyota Land Cruiser Wagon | 1,022 | 1.2% | 67.0% | 23 | 2,018 | 1.2% | 50.4% | 23 | 16 |
| 24 | Honda CR-V | 973 | 1.1% | 41.0% | 29 | 1,788 | 1.0% | 40.3% | 24 | 41 |
| 25 | Kia Sportage | 925 | 1.1% | -28.6% | 11 | 2,497 | 1.5% | 3.8% | 16 | 12 |
| 26 | Tesla Model Y | 845 | 1.0% | new | 61 | 1,231 | 0.7% | new | n/a | 36 |
| 27 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 823 | 0.9% | 8.7% | 45 | 1,394 | 0.8% | -2.8% | n/a | 52 |
| 28 | GWM Haval Jolion | 813 | 0.9% | 125.2% | 25 | 1,688 | 1.0% | 90.7% | n/a | 40 |
Source: VFACTS
