While SUVs are now outselling passenger cars, and light commercials are occupying much of the top 10, the small car segment remains the market’s most popular.
VFACTS data shows that 53,410 small sedans, hatches and wagons were sold over the first quarter of 2017, giving this segment a market share of 19.1 per cent. Next in line are medium SUVs on 16.4 per cent.
They also appear to be holding up better than many other passenger segments, with a volume drop of 4.2 per cent being only half the overall average.
As ever, the sales champions are the Toyota Corolla (9909 sales. up 0.9 per cent) and Mazda 3 (9655, down 5.5 per cent) – enough to be the second and third top-selling vehicles in the market overall, behind the Toyota HiLux and ahead of the Ford Ranger.
The other champions are the soon-to-be-replaced Hyundai i30 on 6404, down almost 25 per cent. Add to this its Elantra sedan cousin and you get a total of 8016.
Also strong are the Kia Cerato, powering to fourth-in-segment on 4654 units, up a massive 93 per cent to be ahead of the outgoing Volkswagen Golf, with its 4063 units meaning a 19 per cent slide ahead of a mid-life update in a few months.
Other big sellers are the brand new Subaru Impreza (an impressive 3027 units, 110 per cent higher than the old model over this period in 2016), Honda Civic (2490, up 400 per cent, before the hatch version even launches) and the evergreen Mitsubishi Lancer on 1910, down 5 per cent.
On the subject of Subaru, if you add WRX and STI sales to the Impreza you actually get a total of 3665.
Making up the numbers are the Ford Focus (1662, up 19 per cent) and new Holden Astra (1535), while next are premium offerings the Audi A3 (1196, down 22.5 per cent) and Mercedes-Benz A-Class (1149, or 2036 if you add the CLA sedan, which VFACTS oddly classifies as a mid-sized car).
Next are the upmarket BMW 1 Series (585, down 18 per cent), Volvo V40 range (353) and Mercedes-Benz B-Class (301), ahead of the axed Holden Cruze (380), Volkswagen Jetta (272), Renault Megane (272), Peugeot 308 (215), Lexus CT200h (215) and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer (137).
|
TOP 25 MODELS JAN-MARCH |
|
|
BRAND |
SALES |
|
Toyota HiLux |
10,333 |
|
Toyota Corolla |
9909 |
|
Mazda 3 |
9655 |
|
Ford Ranger |
9398 |
|
Hyundai i30 |
6404 |
|
Mazda CX-5 |
5973 |
|
Mitsubishi Triton |
5815 |
|
Holden Commodore |
5607 |
|
Hyundai Tucson |
5430 |
|
Nissan X-Trail |
5039 |
|
Toyota RAV4 |
4985 |
|
Holden Colorado |
4666 |
|
Toyota LandCruiser |
4657 |
|
Kia Cerato |
4654 |
|
Mazda CX-3 |
4555 |
|
Toyota Camry |
4389 |
|
Volkswagen Golf |
4063 |
|
Nissan Navara |
3916 |
|
Hyundai Accent |
3810 |
|
Toyota Prado |
3766 |
|
Mitsubishi ASX |
3599 |
|
Mazda BT-50 |
3531 |
|
Kia Sportage |
3385 |
|
Subaru Forester |
3150 |
|
Mitsubishi Outlander |
3148 |
Any sales figures not mentioned here that you want to know? Ask away, in the comments.
MORE: March 2017 new vehicle sales in Australia
MORE: March sales: Three utes in overall top five
MORE: VFACTS car sales news stories