Demand for new vehicles in Australia has continued to grow during July with an increase of 16.1 per cent on the same month last year, with strong growth in the EV and PHEV markets in the Eastern states especially.
A total of 84,161 vehicles were sold across Australia compared with 72,505 during the corresponding month last year. Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory all recorded growth greater than 20 per cent compared with 2020, while New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory recorded a decline due to Sydney’s unfolding COVID crisis.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive Tony Weber said that despite the impacts of lockdowns on major retail locations, the market remained strong.
“The growth of 16.1 per cent shows the underlying strength, confidence and resilience in the market in spite of the challenges being presented due to lockdowns and ongoing delivery issues caused by microprocessor shortages and shipping delays,” he said.
“The Light Commercial segment increased by 40.9 per cent on July last year while SUV sales are up by 15 per cent. We are also seeing the trend of restocking in the rental segment, with growth of 231.4 per cent reflecting the increasing demand for local tourism and travel.”
“Also significant this month is the strong demand for Electric (EV) and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEV) in Victoria and NSW where the State Governments have introduced a road user charge offset by consumer grants and continuing infrastructure investment.”
In Victoria, EV sales were up 191.1 per cent and PHEV up 161.3 per cent compared with July 2020. In NSW, EV sales increased by 260 per cent and PHEV by 84.9 per cent.
Toyota was market leader in July, selling a total of 17,643 vehicles. Mazda led the rest of the brands with 8919 vehicles sold. Ford (5569), Mitsubishi (5,302) and Kia (5,202) followed. The Toyota Hilux took the lead as highest selling vehicle (4610), followed by the Ford Ranger (4064), the Toyota Corolla (2535) and Isuzu Ute D-Max (2427).
Chinese brand MG is continuing to grow in popularity, finishing in the Top 10 car brands list for the fifth time in seven months as its MG ZS model even finished inside the Top 10 vehicle sales for the first time. Across 2021 the electric variant of the MG ZS has also been Australia’s second highest EV behind Tesla’s Model 3 – even though Tesla doesn’t release official numbers we’re aware it’s a clear number one.
Top 10 car brands in July 2021
| Rank | Manufacturer | Units sold in July 2021 | Change year-on-year |
| 1 | Toyota | 17,643 | up 13.8 per cent |
| 2 | Mazda | 8919 | up 14.3 per cent |
| 3 | Ford | 5569 | up 21.8 per cent |
| 4 | Mitsubishi | 5302 | up 13.2 per cent |
| 5 | Kia | 5202 | up 12.5 per cent |
| 6 | Hyundai | 5062 | up 9.2 per cent |
| 7 | Volkswagen | 3840 | up 3.5 per cent |
| 8 | Isuzu | 3403 | up 156.4 per cent |
| 9 | MG | 3313 | up 197.1 per cent |
| 10 | Nissan | 2691 | down 7.4 per cent |
Source: VFACTS data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries
