We hit another million
It’s been a tough 12 months for business. Yet, 1,049,831 new vehicles sold in 2021, up 132,863 or 14.5 percent over 2020.
All vehicle segments experienced increased growth, except for passenger vehicles, which declined by 0.2 percent.
Micro vehicles were the fastest growing segment, up 90.4 percent, led by the Mitsubishi Mirage and Kia Picanto.
Battery electric vehicles and plug-in-hybrid vehicles had sales growth of 191.1 percent and 99.4 percent, with 5,149 battery EVs sold, compared to 1,769 in 2020. This doesn’t include Tesla sales, which are estimated to be over 10,000.
Toyota was the most popular brand for the 19th year in a row, accounting for 21.3 percent of the market and outselling its nearest rival Mazda 223,642 versus 101,119 vehicles.
The Toyota Hilux retained its top selling status for a record sixth year in a row (52,801 sales), beating the Ford Ranger (50,279).
Australia’s most popular passenger car was the Toyota Corolla (28,768 sales) while the most popular SUV was the Toyota RAV4 (35,751).
Honda had a tough year finishing 15th in the sales race with a 39.5 percent slump after switching to a fixed price model from July.
Industry expects supply shortages and shipping constraints to affect the new vehicle market during 2022, as automotive competes with other technology-based companies for access to semiconductor production. Supply normality is not expected to return until late 2022, with many buyers on waiting lists of between three to 10 months.
There is a healthy forward order bank for new vehicles, and this should translate into improved sales results in 2022.
Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Words: VACC CEO, Geoff Gwilym.
Share your thoughts! E: ceo@vacc.com.au. As featured in the Herald Sun 14 January 2022.