As we cross past the halfway point of another rather tumultuous year, DiscoverAuto takes a look at how new car sales are tracking so far, thanks to 2021 VFACTS sales figures.
First signs are promising however, as the industry starts its recovery to pre-COVID sales volumes, with sales set to creep over the million unit mark by years’ end. All has not been perfect however, with stock shortages and a serious lack of parts hampering new car sales efforts. How has the first half of the year faired?
The first half of the year might have been far from stellar, but it does buck the sales freecall experiences last year. A total of 567,468 cars were sold from 1 January to 30 June this year, which is up 28.3% over last years abysmal results. This does represent the best first half of the year since 2018, when 605,522 cars were sold. It’s clear that more buyers entered the market this year on the back of a strong economy and significant government incentives which were geared to kick start the automotive industry in Australia.
Many of those who missed out last year, have turned to buying a car in 2021. If only the manufacturers had better stock of vehicles, it is likely that the first half of 2021 would have surpassed even the sales records set in 2018. Some variants of vehicles have even had temporary sales blocks put on them, such as the base Skoda Kamiq 85TSI, with only the more expensive Kamiq models on offer.
SUVs such as the Mazda CX-5 continue to be all the craze these days with the segment making up 51.5% of new car sales, whilst, 23.5% of vehicles were light commercial utes or vans with the humble passenger car (hatch, sedan, wagon). Heavy commercial vehicles made up 4.2% of sales. It seems that in pandemic times or not, buyers are looking for cars that sit higher off the ground and offer a more commanding driving position.
Top 20 Brands:
It seems that both Mazda and Toyota remain firm fan favourites in 2021, growing 57% and 22% respectively over their 2020 results whilst MG continues to surge ahead with incredible sales figures, growing a whopping 240% over last year’s performance. Kia had more success than Hyundai during the first half of the year (43% v 26%) whilst most other mainstream brands have shown a lift in sales which is in line with the rest of the market, as it awakes from last year’s slumber.
The Overall Top 20 Brands:
| Brand | H1 2021 total | Over H1 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Toyota | 118,953 | 21.7% |
| Mazda | 60,446 | 55.6% |
| Hyundai | 38,634 | 25.5% |
| Kia | 37,894 | 43.2% |
| Ford | 37,883 | 37.0% |
| Mitsubishi | 37,443 | 30.1% |
| Nissan | 23,982 | 28.3% |
| Volkswagen | 20,891 | 6.6% |
| Subaru | 20,093 | 34.3% |
| MG | 19,544 | 240.4% |
| Isuzu Ute | 18,805 | 88.4% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 18,461 | 4.4% |
| BMW | 14,108 | 12.1% |
| Honda | 10,771 | -34.8% |
| Suzuki | 9,284 | 29.6% |
| Audi | 9,013 | 24.7% |
| GWM Haval | 7,564 | 261.2% |
| LDV | 7,184 | 127.1% |
| Skoda | 5,653 | 105.4% |
| Volvo Car | 5,439 | 61.4% |
The market is still dominated very easily by Toyota, but we note some big movements between some other brands brands. MG now has a 3.4% market share, Mazda enjoys 10.7%, GWM Haval has 1.3% and Kia has grown to 6.7%.
Sales by country of origin:
With Chinese brands MG and GWM Haval now starting to gain serious traction in Australia, they have popped up in sales figures as force to be reckoned with on account of their value for money. China has now become the fastest growing source of Australian cars, with 224.5% more Chinese cars sold this first half of the year than last.
Top 5 Countries of Origin:
Japan: 196,315 units
Thailand: 123,953 units
Korea: 78,776 units
China: 35,869 units
Germany: 23,185
Stay tuned to DiscoverAuto for the latest automotive news and reviews.
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