Another month, another bumper haul for ute manufacturers.
Australia’s fascination with the hay-hauler continued in the month of June, fresh figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries revealed today. Helped along by aggressive End of Financial Year sales, the country’s two top selling vehicles were none other than the Toyota HiLux (5461) and Ford Ranger (5051), while the Mitsubishi Triton finished a credible eighth overall with 2995 sales.
The strong utility showing was one highlight in a stellar month for the Australian car industry. Overall year-to-date figures are now up by 0.2 per cent to 559,552, after 134,171 vehicles sold in June – an increase of 4.4 per cent.
Third in overall June sales was the Toyota Corolla (3830), while the Hyundai Tucson finished fourth (3741) and Mazda3 fifth (3490).
Much of the 2017 success have been anchored by the humble SUV, and June again proved a case in point with the high-riding market (51,393) overshadowing passenger vehicle sales (50,646) – not for the first time this year, either.
Business buyers largely dictated the order of the market in June, in line with the end of financial year. Overall business sales were up 2.1 per cent in June, comprising roughly 40 per cent of overall sales. The private segment finished 2.3 per cent down, but still made up roughly 50 per cent of demand.
Big winners in June included Mitsubishi and Kia, while Nissan, Fiat Chrysler Australia and Holden all stagnated in a growing market.
Luxury vehicles were also strong in the mix. Mercedes-Benz streaked to record sales in June of 4920 registrations, a 24.8 per cent increase compared with the corresponding period last year, and a 7.9 per cent increase year-to-date. Key to the German marque’s success has been its AMG portfolio, which netted more than 700 sales alone in June.
Elsewhere on the sports car front, Ford’s Mustang continued its purple patch with 1276 sales, pushing its year-to-date tally to an incredible 5048 with aid of more stock availability.
Incredibly, another 22 Aussies parked a new Ferrari in their driveway in June, pushing the Prancing Horse’s total record year to 101 new vehicle registrations.
Top ten makes: Toyota (24,546), Mazda (12,501), Hyundai (12,251), Holden (9273), Mitsubishi (9266), Ford (8853), Nissan (6690), Kia (6737), Volkswagen (6447), Honda (5412).
Top ten models: Toyota HiLux (5461), Ford Ranger (5051), Toyota Corolla (3830), Hyundai Tucson (3741), Mazda3 (3490), Hyundai i30 (3471), Toyota Camry (3191), Mitsubishi Triton (2995), Mazda CX-5 (2487), Toyota RAV4 (2460).