Toyota Helps Drive Australia’s 5-Month Sales Up 4.6%

Toyota once again swept first and second place as Australia’s new-vehicle market paused in May, inching up a mere 0.7% compared with year-ago to 96,788 units.

The result, released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, left year-to-date sales up 4.6% to 464,953 units and well on track for another million-plus year.

The Toyota Hilux pickup, with 3,665 deliveries and Toyota Corolla small car with 3,640, led the May contest, ahead of the Mazda3 (3,054), Mitsubishi Triton (2,606) and Hyundai I30 (2,512).

The result was enough for the Corolla to take over the year-to-date lead from the Mazda3 in the race to become Australia’s most-popular car. The Mazda3 has won the title the last two years but is due to be replaced with a new model later this year.

Three of the top-10 best-sellers in May were light-commercial vehicles, while four were small cars. Only two were locally produced.

Retail sales of diesel-powered LCVs rose 46% in May to 5,466 units.

Toyota continued to dominate the Australia scene with total May sales of 19,003 units, more than doubling No.2 GM Holden’s 8,293. Mazda followed with 8,135, ahead of Hyundai’s 8,027 and Ford’s 7,243.

Sales of small SUVs climbed 19.6% in May to 6,266 units, while medium SUVs grew 20.5% to 11,361. Year-to-date, small SUVs were up 20.3% to 29,380 and medium SUVs were up 15% to 49,495.

This left the combined SUV segment with a 7.9% gain to 29,152 units, while the 5-month result rose 11.5% to 136,141. In contrast, May’s new-car sales fell 3.1% to 46,774, for a 5-month total down 2.0% to 223,577. LCV deliveries slipped 0.9% to 17,983, but remained 13.0% ahead of year-ago in the first five months to 82,874.

Toyota dealers sold 3,640 Corolla hatchbacks and sedans in the month, lifting the car's total for the year to an industry-leading 16,774 units. The network delivered 3,665 HiLux pickups, allowing the workhorse to retain third place so far this year with 15,790.

Toyota Australia's Divisional Sales Manager Chris Beuth says the auto maker expects to grow its overall market leadership in June, traditionally the industry's strongest month of the year.

Noting Toyota’s May sales were substantially more than the combined totals of its two nearest rivals, Beuth adds, “Toyota dealers have now sold almost 84,000 vehicles this year, which is more than 40,000 ahead of any other brand.”

Toyota Australia expects to pass 100,000 sales for the year during June, he adds, delivering more than 20,000 vehicles, a level no other brand has achieved in a single month.

Mazda maintained its No.2 sales position in May with 8,135 units for a year-to-date total of 42,720 and a 9.4% market share. The CX-5 cross/utility vehicle topped the medium- SUV segment for the third consecutive month with 1,773 units for a market-leading 8,057 deliveries year-to-date.

The Mazda2 topped the light-car segment with 1,236 units in the month for a 5-month total of 7,155.

Hyundai’s May performance marked its 10^th straight month of record light-vehicle sales.  The auto maker finished an industry second in new-car sales to Toyota, ahead of GM Holden, Ford and Mazda, with 5,499 units for an 11.8% share.

Mitsubishi’s May sales surged 35% to a record 7,011 units, with SUV and LCV models driving the growth. It was the brand’s best monthly result in Australia since December 2009, giving it a 5-month total of 28,072, a record for import sales.

Strong across-the-board growth in the market was reflected by a notable 16% rise in sales from April to May.

BMW’s 5-month deliveries jumped 14.2% to a record 7,855 units. The premium brand achieved the No.1 position in six segments and posted year-to-date records in another four.

Fiat Chrysler Group sold a record 2,194 vehicles in May, as it marked one full year since the Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands were added to its Australian portfolio. Fiat sold 1,107 units in the first five months and Alfa Romeo, 530.

Combined with year-to-date sales of 9,787 units for the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands, the group was up more than 28% through May.