Industry insights: VFACTS March 2023 summary

5 April 2023

VACC Senior Research Analyst, Steve Bletsos breaks down the latest automotive statistics from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Here’s what you need to know…

National scene

For the month of March

• Nationally, there was a total of 97,251 new vehicles delivered, a decrease of 3,982 vehicles or -3.9 per cent over March 2022
• To a large extent, the March 2023 sales result is distorted by biosecurity issues and other supply constraints that delayed the delivery of many new vehicles to dealerships across the country
• Year to date, 269,002 new vehicles have been sold, representing 6,566 more vehicles or a rise of 2.5 per cent over last year
• The only market segments that recorded an increase in sales in March 2023 were SUVs (up 5.2 per cent) and heavy commercial vehicles (up 9.3 per cent). The respective sales breakdowns are as follows: Passenger vehicles down 21.9 per cent; SUVs up 5.2 per cent; Light commercial vehicles down nine per cent; Heavy commercial vehicles up 9.3 per cent.

State numbers

• Sales results were mixed across states and territories, with half of all states recording small sales increases in March 2023, and the remaining half recording large decreases in sales. The respective results are as follows: ACT up one per cent; NSW down 6.1 per cent; NT down 15.3 per cent; Queensland up 4.9 per cent; SA up 2.6 per cent; Tasmania down 8.4 per cent; Victoria down 11.2 per cent; WA up 1.1 per cent.

Commercial vehicles

• Heavy commercial vehicles continue their long running trend as the best performing market segment. A total of 4,531 heavy commercial vehicles were sold in March 2023, an increase of 9.3 per cent over March 2022. Year to date, sales are up 20.5 per cent
• A total of 22,012 light commercial vehicles were sold in March 2023, a decrease of 2,182 vehicles or nine per cent over March 2022.

Sales by vehicle category and fuel type

Battery electric vehicles

• 6,612 battery electric vehicles were sold in March 2023. Year to date, there have been 17,396 battery electric vehicles sold, accounting for 6.5 per cent of the new vehicle market
• Tesla recorded 3,578 sales, accounting for 54.1 per cent of all battery electric vehicles sold for the month
• The highest selling battery electric vehicle was the Tesla Model Y (1,938 sales) followed by the Tesla Model 3 (1,640 sales) and the BYD Atto 3 (1,061 sales).

Plug-in-hybrids

• 569 plug-in-hybrids were sold in March 2023, an increase of 33.3 per cent or 142 more vehicles than in March 2022. Year to date sales are up 39.5 per cent over last year.

Hybrids, petrol and diesel

• 5,247 conventional hybrid vehicles were sold in March 2023, a decline of -29.8 per cent or 2,227 vehicles over March 2022. Year to date hybrid sales are down 21.8 per cent
• 50,229 petrol vehicles were sold in March 2023, representing a small decline of 53 vehicles or - 0.1 per cent over March 2022. Year to date petrol vehicle sales are up three per cent
• 30,063 diesel vehicles were sold in March 2023, a decrease of 3,306 vehicles or -9.9 per cent over March last year. Year to date diesel vehicle sales are down -6.7 per cent.

Sales results by segment and vehicle brand

Sports vehicles less than $80,000 were the best performing market segment for the month (up 109.4 per cent) followed by pick-up vehicles valued over $100,000 (up 41.9 per cent) and micro vehicles (up 23.3 per cent).

Some of the best performing vehicle models for the month included:

• Audi Q5 (645 sales, up 347.9 per cent)
• BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe (232 sales, up 427.3 per cent)
• Ford Ranger 4x4 (3,877 sales, up 41.3 per cent)
• Honda CRV (1,176 sales, up 74.2 per cent)
• Hyundai Tucson (1,322 sales, up 217.8 per cent)
• GWM Ute 4X4 (1,140 sales, up more than 999 per cent)
• Mini Countryman (288 sales, up 357.1 per cent)
• Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace (490 sales, up 988.9 per cent).

Sales of luxury/sports vehicles were generally subdued in March 2023, with only two luxury brands recording increased sales for the month. These were Aston Martin (22 sales, up from 10 sales in March 2022); McLaren (six sales, up from four sales in March 2022).

Sales declines were recorded by Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lotus, Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche and Rolls-Royce for the month.

Overall, Toyota led the market with a total of 13,223 vehicles sold. Mazda was second (8,243), followed by Ford (6,485), Kia (6,403), and Mitsubishi (5,863). 

The Toyota Hi-Lux was the highest-selling model with 4,583 sales, followed by Ford’s Ranger 4,508. Isuzu’s D-Max was third with 2,789, followed by Mitsubishi’s Outlander (2,169) and the Tesla Model Y (1,938).

Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries