Industry insights: VFACTS April 2023 summary

3 May 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 April

• Nationally, there was a total of 82,137 new vehicles delivered in April 2023, a modest increase of 1,072 vehicles or 1.3 per cent over April 2022
• Biosecurity issues and other supply constraints continue to hold up the delivery of many new vehicles to dealerships across the country
• Year to date, 351,139 new vehicles have been delivered, which is 7,638 more vehicles or 2.2 per cent ahead of last year
• The only market segments that recorded an increase in sales in April 2023 were SUVs (up 8.6 per cent) and heavy commercial vehicles (up 6.6 per cent). The respective sales breakdowns are as follows: Passenger vehicles down -1.6 per cent; SUVs up 8.6 per cent; Light commercial vehicles down -13.1 per cent; Heavy commercial vehicles up 6.6 per cent.

State numbers

• Sales results were mixed across states and territories, with half of all states recording small increases in sales in April 2023, and the remaining half recording decreases in sales. The respective results are as follows:

ACT up five per cent
NSW down 1.5 per cent
NT down 10.3 per cent
Queensland up 4.4 per cent
SA down 6.8 per cent
Tasmania down 13.3 per cent
Victoria up 4.2 per cent
WA up 5.2 per cent.

Commercial vehicles

• Heavy commercial vehicles continue their long running growth trend. A total of 3,855 heavy commercial vehicles were sold in April 2023, an increase of 6.6 per cent over April 2022. Year to date sales are up 16.7 per cent
• A total of 17,060 light commercial vehicles were sold in April 2023, a decrease of 2,576 vehicles or 13.1 per cent over April 2022.

Sales by vehicle category and fuel type

Battery Electric vehicles

• 6,530 battery electric vehicles were sold in April 2023. Year to date there have been 23,926 battery electric vehicles sold, accounting for 6.8 per cent of the new vehicle market
• Tesla recorded 3,676 sales, accounting for 56.3 per cent of all battery electric vehicles sold for the month
• The highest selling battery electric vehicle was the Tesla Model Y (2,095 sales) followed by the Tesla Model 3 (1,581 sales) and the BYD Atto 3 (1,118 sales).

Plug-in hybrids

• 545 plug-in hybrids were sold in April 2023, a decrease of 84 vehicles or 13.4 per cent over April 2022. Year to date sales are up 19.7 per cent over last year.

Hybrids, petrol & diesel

• 5,592 conventional hybrid vehicles were sold in April 2023, a decline of -9.6 per cent or -594 vehicles over April 2022. Year to date ,hybrid sales are down 19 per cent
• 42,369 petrol vehicles were sold in April 2023, representing an increase of 470 vehicles or 1.1 per cent over April 2022. Year to date, petrol vehicle sales are up 2.5 per cent
• 23,246 diesel vehicles were sold in April 2023, a decrease of 4,623 vehicles or -16.6 per cent over April last year. Year to date, diesel vehicle sales are down -9.1 per cent.

Sales results by segment and vehicle brand

• Medium size vehicles over $60,000 were the best performing market segment for the month (up 61.1 per cent) followed by sports vehicles less than $80,000 (up 54.6 per cent) and people movers (up 35.5 per cent).

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

• Hyundai Tucson (1,678 sales, up 90.2 per cent)
• Mazda CX-3 (860 sales, up 380.4 per cent)
• Mitsubishi Outlander (1,829 sales, up 68.4 per cent)
• Volkswagen Tiguan (751 sales, up 643.6 per cent)
• Volkswagen T-Roc (679 sales, up 426.4 per cent)
• Lexus NX (528 sales, up 200 per cent)
• Kia Seltos (998 sales, up 152.7 per cent)
• Subaru Impreza (423 sales, up 164.4 per cent).

Sales of luxury/sports vehicles were generally subdued in April 2023, with only two luxury brands recording increased sales for the month. These were:

• Aston Martin (16 sales, up from 11 sales in April 2022)
• Maserati (58 sales, up from 48 sales in April 2022).

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

Overall, Toyota led the market with 12,029 vehicles, followed by Mazda (6,926), Kia (6,200), Hyundai (5,732), and Ford (5,047). 

The Ford Ranger was the highest-selling model with 3,567 sales, followed by Toyota Hi-Lux 3,526, Toyota RAV4 (2,198), Tesla Model Y (2095), and Hyundai i30 (2,029).

Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries