Car Sales Figures and Statistics In Australia 2024

In January 2024, the Australian new car market revelled in its best start ever to a new calendar year. However, that has not prevented some officials within the industry from expressing concerns about what might lie ahead in the future, given the current uncertainty around economic conditions.

According to the FCAI (Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries), who publish the official statistics for sales of new cars every month, some 89,782 vehicles were registered within the first month of 2024. This topped the previous monthly high of 88,551, which was set six years previously.

While it is an encouraging start to the year, major industry players proffer that new car sales are unlikely to match the record-breaking efforts of 2023, when over 1.2 million motors were purchased by Australian consumers. Toyota, for one, suggests less than 1.1 million will be sold. A benchmark that was last hit over a decade ago.

The reason for the good start, according to Tony Weber, the chief executive of FCAI, is that there was a high demand in November and December of 2023 from families and businesses that only took ownership of their new cars in January.

Below is an overview of what happened in the first month of 2024.

 

 Quick Stats:

• Toyota was the top-selling car brand in January, with 17,903 units sold – representing the best-ever start to the year for the Japanese automotive giant.
• The Ford Ranger ute continued to be the most popular selling brand of car, with 4747 units purchased by Australian consumers in the first month of 2024.
• More new cars were registered in New South Wales in January 2024 than in any other state.
• Electric vehicles made up 5.4% of all new car sales in January.
• All ‘low-emission’ vehicles – inclusive of electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid – made up for 17.4%.
• The BYD from China was the top-selling electric vehicle in Australia for the first time in January, completing 1310 sales.

 

Top 10 Car Models in January 2024

Here are the top 10 models of cars that were bought as new in Australia in January 2024, along with their 2023 numbers for the comparative period.

1. Ford Ranger – 4747 (4749)
2. Toyota HiLux – 4092 (4131)
3. Isuzu D-Max – 2541 (1843)
4. Toyota RAV4 – 2211 (1958)
5. Mitsubishi Outlander – 2077 (1674)
6. MG ZS – 1888 (1842)
7. Toyota Corolla – 1843 (1116)
8. Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 1746 (1182)
9. Hyundai i30 – 1727 (1565)
10. Mazda CX-5 – 1720 (2189)

 

Top 10 new car sale brands for January 2024

Here are the top 10 brands of cars that were bought new in January 2024, along with their comparative figures for the same period in 2023.

1. Toyota – 17,903 (13,363)
2. Mazda – 8165 (9407)
3. Ford – 6624 (6624
4. Hyundai – 6162 (5809)
5. Mitsubishi – 5911 (5276)
6. Kia – 5707 (6006)
7. MG – 4006 (4015)
8. Isuzu Ute – 3758 (2671)
9. GWM-Haval – 3124 (2503)
10. Subaru – 3068 (3601)

 

Sales By State or Region

Here are the new car sales by state territory for January 2024.

1. New South Wales – 26,791
2. Victoria – 23,770
3. Queensland – 19,786
4. Western Australia – 9911
5. South Australia – 5999
6. Tasmania – 1493
7. ACT – 1290
8. Northern Territory – 742

 

Fuel Type

Here is a breakdown of the cars that were sold in January 2024 by fuel type, along with their January 2023 figure.

1. Petrol – 42,247 (44,831)
2. Diesel – 28,923 (26,589)
3. Hybrid – 9821 (5136)
4. Electric – 4893 (4852)
5. PHEV 980 – (438)
6. Hydrogen – 1 (0)

 

Shape and Size

Here is an overview of the top 20 shapes and sizes of vehicles that sold as new cars in January 2024, along with their comparative numbers for the same period in 2023.

 

1. Medium SUV – 17,523 (17,648)
2. 4X4 Ute – 15,966 (14,144)
3. Small SUV – 13,183 (11,006)
4. Large SUV – 12,177 (10,921)
5. Small Car – 8203 (5488)
6. Light SUV – 4641 (5669)
7. Medium Car – 3763 (4942)
8. Light Car – 2453 (3456)
9. Upper Large SUV – 2306 (1454)
10. 4X2 Ute – 2094 (2174)
11. Vans 2.5-3.5t – 1519 (1425)
12. People Movers – 876 (1252)
13. Full-Size 4X4 Ute – 756 (634)
14. Sports Cars 705 (703)
15. Micro Car – 249 (399)
16. Large Car – 174 (314)
17. Light Buses < 20 Seats – 150 (111)
18. Vans/CC <2.5t – 107 (38)
19. Upper Large Car – 11 (48)
20. Light Buses > 20 Seats – 9 (20)

 

Country of Origin

Australian consumers buy imported cars from all around the world. Here is where the vehicles that were sold in January 2024 came from, along with their comparative sales in brackets from January 2023.

1. Japan – 28,224 (23,538)
2. Thailand – 20,153 (20,441)
3. China – 12,902 (12,486)
4. Korea – 12,476 (12,606)
5. Germany – 3380 (3076)
6. USA – 2665 (2258)
7. Misc – 2122 (2282)
8. England – 1328 (1102)
9. Mexico – 1184 (1093)
10. South Africa – 904 (746)

 

Things to consider

1. The FACI has suggested the plan by the Federal Government to introduce an emissions standard for new vehicles from January 1, 2025, which is facing challenges due to Australia’s preference for Utes and larger SUVs. At the crux of it is the industry’s wish for an ambitious emissions standard that does not increase the cost or limit the choice of vehicles for Aussie consumers.

 

1. In January 2024, Tesla experienced a significant decline in sales. The sales declined to 1107 for that month, a drop of 67% from the previous year’s figure of 3313. This was due to a couple of issues – firstly, there was a 2-week pause on delivery for the Model 3 facelifted version due to an ADR-related compliance issue. Secondly, the shipment of Model Ys was delayed due to contamination from a stink bug, and the deliveries were postponed to February. You can expect these sales to increase in February and March.

 

1. These new car sales for Toyota represent a record, surpassing the brand’s previous best of 17,852 cars in 2008.