VFACTS - August 2024

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Deliveries were down in August.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/austra...n-august-2024/

Australian new-car sales in August 2024: Second decline in three months as Toyota RAV4 leads VFACTS

New-car sales have hit the brakes for the second time in three months – after 14 months of consecutive growth – despite booming demand for hybrids that led the Toyota RAV4 to its fifth-ever monthly win.

Sales of new motor vehicles declined for the second time in three months in August 2024, as a long-forecast slowdown – backed by an economic downturn – finally appears to be setting in.

The 100,786 new vehicles reported as sold in August 2024 represent a drop of 8.3 per cent on the same month last year, after 14 months of consecutive sales growth – the longest in 20 years – came to an end two months ago.

It is based on VFACTS data published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the peak body for new-car makers in Australia, as well as data supplied by Tesla and Polestar to the Electric Vehicle Council, as these brands no longer provide sales results to the FCAI's reports.

TOP 10 CARS IN AUGUST 2024
Rank Model Volume August 2024 Change year-on-year
1 Toyota RAV4 6712 up 94 per cent
2 Ford Ranger 5431 down 5.7 per cent
3 Toyota HiLux 4496 down 22 per cent
4 Isuzu D-Max 2548 down 22 per cent
5 Ford Everest 2273 up 51 per cent
6 Mitsubishi Outlander 2188 up 7.8 per cent
7 Kia Sportage 2051 up 63 per cent
8 Mazda CX-5 1927 up 8 per cent
9 Toyota Corolla 1855 down 34 per cent
10 Mazda CX-3 1675 up 50 per cent

TOP 10 CAR BRANDS IN AUGUST 2024
Rank Brand Volume August 2024 Change year-on-year
1 Toyota 21,490 down 3.7 per cent
2 Ford 8890 up 12.6 per cent
3 Mazda 8263 down 2.3 per cent
4 Kia 6903 up 6 per cent
5 Hyundai 6211 down 4.6 per cent
6 Mitsubishi 5516 up 11.2 per cent
7 Isuzu Ute 3924 down 16.7 per cent
8 MG 3561 down 33.7 per cent
9 Nissan 3376 down 20.2 per cent
10 GWM 3148 up 9.4 per cent

Ford Vehicles

Ford Escape – 25
Ford Everest – 2273
Ford F-150 – 311
Ford Mustang – 296
Ford Mustang Mach-E – 92
Ford Puma – 26
Ford Ranger 4x2 – 289
Ford Ranger 4x4 – 5142
Ford Transit Bus – 14
Ford Transit Custom – 304
Ford Transit Heavy – 118
Ford total – 8890

Industry experts have long warned of a sales slowdown in 2024, as demand for new vehicles eased amid an economic slowdown – and car brands began to clear lengthy wait lists built up for in-demand models in the wake of the pandemic.

Since the start of this year, new-vehicle sales are still on record pace, with 836,065 deliveries reported – up 6 per cent on the first eight months of last year.

However, the decline in August has cut the increase from 7.9 per cent at the end of July, to 6 per cent today.

Toyota has previously forecast a slowdown in new-car sales in the second half of the year, towards an annual tally of 1.05 to 1.1 million vehicles – compared to more than 1.2 million last year.

The market decline in August was despite growing sales of hybrid vehicles, up 45 per cent last month compared to August 2023 – and up 96 per cent year-to-date – buoyed by improved supply for Australia's top seller of hybrids, Toyota.

The Toyota RAV4 was Australia's top-selling new vehicle in August 2024 for the second month in a row, and third this year – a model which, since June, has been only available to order as a hybrid.

It broke its sales record, posting 6712 deliveries last month – smashing its previous best result of 5913 sales in July 2024 – ahead of the Ford Ranger (5431) and Toyota HiLux (4496).

Only once before has a Toyota model achieved a monthly sales result this high, when 7532 HiLuxes were reported as crossing showroom floors in June 2022.

In contrast, electric-vehicle deliveries were down 15.6 per cent last month – though they remain up 11.6 per cent so far this year.

The decline was driven by Tesla, the top seller of electric vehicles, which was down 27.7 per cent last month, and is currently down 14.4 per cent year-to-date – despite slashing the price of its cheapest SUV by $10,000 in the first half of this year.

The RAV4 (6712 sales) led the Ford Ranger (5431), Toyota HiLux (4496) and Isuzu D-Max (2548) utes, ahead of the Ford Everest (2273) and Mitsubishi Outlander (2188).

It means four of the Top 10 best-selling new vehicles were based on a ute – the Ford Everest is the SUV version of the Ranger – while only one traditional hatchback or sedan featured in the Top 10, the ninth-placed Toyota Corolla (1855 deliveries, down 34 per cent).

Toyota remained the nation's top-selling new-car brand, with 21,490 sales reported – down 3.7 per cent – ahead of Ford (8890, up 12.6 per cent), Mazda (8263, down 2.3 per cent) and Kia (6093, up 6 per cent).

Subaru (3004) and Volkswagen (2790) missed out on Top 10 positions – ending the month in 11th and 12th – while BYD was less than 400 sales behind Tesla, with nearly half of the Chinese car giant's deliveries being the Sealion 6 plug-in hybrid.

Electric vehicles accounted for 8 per cent of new-car sales – when Tesla and Polestar data is included – while close to one in four vehicles delivered was a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fully electric.