The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) ‘VFACTS’ report revealed 82,137 vehicles were sold in April, an increase of 1.3% on figures reported for the same period in 2022.

It is important to note April is historically one of the slowest months on the calendar for new-car sales due to the school holidays, public holidays, and the Easter break.

Toyota Australia reported 12,029 new cars as sold in April 2023, a drop of 33% compared to the same month last year.

Toyota’s continued sales slump has seen the Toyota Hilux ute drop to second place for the first time in seven years, with the Ford Ranger taking out top gong.

More notably, Tesla’s Model Y was the fourth-best selling SUV car in the country, while the brand’s Model 3 was the top-selling sedan. It now outsells established brands such as Honda, Subaru, and Volkswagen.

This is largely due to delayed shipments arriving, which count towards the sales tally.

FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said the EV market share accounted for 8% of new car sales in April. 

“This is well up from 1.1% compared with April 2022,” Mr Weber said.

“If you take all forms of electrification, that number has increased from 9.5% to 15.4%, and we know that this number would have been larger had the industry not faced global supply challenges.

“It is worth noting that five out of the top ten models sold in April offer some form of electrification.”

Car sale figures for the months prior in February and March reached 86,878 and 97,251 respectively, bringing the year-to-date total to 351,139.

The top 10 selling vehicles in April 2023

  1. Ford Ranger - 3,567
  2. Toyota Hi-Lux - 3,526
  3. Toyota RAV4 - 2,198
  4. Tesla Model Y - 2,095
  5. Hyundai i30 - 2,029
  6. Mitsubishi Outlander - 1,829
  7. Isuzu Ute D-Max - 1,809
  8. Hyundai Tucson - 1,678
  9. MG ZS - 1,588
  10. Tesla Model 3 - 1,581

Across the states, the report revealed new car sales grew in the ACT by 5%; Queensland, 4.4%; Victoria, 4.2%; Western Australia, 5.2%.

At the opposite end of the ladder, new car sales decreased in New South Wales by 1.5%; Northern Territory, 10.3%; and Tasmania, 13.3%.

Chinese cars on the rise

Sales of vehicles sourced from China increased by 68.5% last month with 13,426 vehicles sold, firmly establishing China as our third favourite car importer.

Japan remains Australia’s largest source of vehicles (22,304) followed by Thailand (15,886) and Korea in fourth spot (12,952).

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