2021 VFACTS half-term sales report – Part one: Alfa Romeo to LDV

We’re at the halfway point of a year which is now also just over 50 per cent of the way to reaching one million new-car sales.

In a two-part series, we dig deeply into the VFACTS industry data to find out which brands are winning or losing in Australia’s intensely competitive sales race.

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2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sport

Alfa Romeo: Up 6 per cent – small winner

Best-selling and fastest-growing model: Giulia sedan (159 sales; up 75 per cent)

The Italian brand continues to struggle globally and locally. It needs significantly better than six per cent growth (304 units) in a market that’s up nearly 30 per cent (and considering it’s working off a low volume base). There’s some remaining stock of the now-discontinued Giulietta hatch and 4C sports car, but essentially Alfa is trading with just two fresh models.

There’s good news for the recently updated Giulia sedan, which is up 75 per cent year to date, but sales of its Stelvio SUV – arguably its most important model – have more than halved compared with the first half of 2020. More product is desperately needed.

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2021 Aston Martin DBX

Aston Martin: Up 70 per cent – winner

Best-selling and fastest-growing model: Not applicable.

The British brand’s first SUV, the DBX, is having a positive effect so far in 2021 – contributing to nearly half of Aston’s 68 units.

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2020 Audi Q3 Sportback

Audi: Up 25 per cent – winner

Best-selling model: Q3 small SUV (2912 sales; up 61 per cent)

Fastest-growing model: R8 supercar (22 sales; up 633 per cent)

Sales up by a quarter is still a positive, despite growth being slightly below the 2021 market’s 28 per cent (up to the end of June). There’s growth among the German brand’s passenger cars but its SUVs continue to dominate. Its Q2, Q3, Q5, Q7 and Q8 models accumulatively account for four out of every five Audis sold. The second-generation Q3 introduced in 2020 is its standout performer; next is the Q5 with 2216 sales (up 50 per cent).

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2021 Bentley Continental GT

Bentley: Up 19 per cent – small winner

Best-selling model: Continental GT coupe/convertible (52 sales; up eight per cent)

Fastest-growing model: Mulsanne limo (16 sales; up 46 per cent)

England’s posh Bentley brand has passed 100 units (108) at 2021’s halfway stage, with its latest-generation Continental GT managing to outsell the Bentayga SUV.

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The 2022 BMW X3 is sure to be as popular as the outgoing model

BMW: Up 12 per cent – small winner

Best-selling model: X3 midsized SUV (2258 sales; up nine per cent)

Fastest-growing model: 4 Series Coupe/Convertible (594 sales; up 179 per cent)

Growth, yes, but below the overall market’s 28 per cent increase. While comfortably ahead of Audi, there’s also still a clear gap to Mercedes-Benz. While the Munich brand’s regular SUVs – X1, X3 and X5 – are all registering sales increases, its coupe-style spin-off variants – X2, X4 and X6 – have all posted decreases. The X7 flagship is also down.

The Z4 sports car has nosedived (down 78 per cent) but there are plenty of bright spots among BMW’s passenger-car range. Its compact models are together outperforming rivals from Audi and Mercedes, with the 1 Series hatch and its related 2 Series Gran Coupe sedan up 12 and 76 per cent, respectively.

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2021 Citroen C3 Hatch

Chrysler: Down 43 per cent – loser

The US brand soldiers on with its solitary model, the 300, and just 78 sales so far.

Citroen: Down 28 per cent – loser

Best-selling and fastest-growing model: C3 city car (47 sales; up 68 per cent)

This half of the PSA Group continues to lag well behind its Peugeot sister brand. With 71 sales so far this year, it is outsold by unlikely manufacturers including Lamborghini. Will the French brand’s fortunes ever be revived Down Under?

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2021 Fiat 500

Ferrari: Down 21 per cent – loser

The Prancing Horse’s sales have been galloping along in recent years but is out of its stride in 2021 with its 87 units down on the 110 Ferraris shifted in the first six months of last year.

Fiat: Down 19 per cent – loser

Like Chrysler, a brand now offering just a single model – albeit in various guises, including sporty Abarths. Sales of the 500 are up eight per cent, but the departures of the MX-5-based 124 Spider and failed 500X SUV means overall sales are down by a fifth.

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2021 Ford Ranger

Ford: Up 37 per cent – winner

Best-selling model: Ranger ute (25,336 sales; up 37 per cent)

Fastest-growing model: Fiesta ST hot-hatch (251 sales; up 167 per cent)

Ford Australia is having a stellar year, even claiming third most popular brand in the month of June. It’s primarily owed to the continuing phenomenal success of the Ranger ute, which in 2021 so far accounts for two out every three Ford sales. The Everest SUV spin-off is also going strongly, up 39 per cent.

There’s still consistent growth among Ford’s other models, however, including the only version of the Fiesta imported here – the ST. Sales of the pint-sized hot-hatch have almost tripled since this time last year. The Focus has disappointed, though; the once-popular small car has seen its sales halve (to 582 units).

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2021 Genesis GV80

Genesis: Up 310 per cent – big winner

Best-selling and fastest-growing model: GV80 large SUV (154 sales; not sold this time in 2020)

Hyundai’s luxury brand only launched in 2020 and has extremely limited sales outlets, yet Genesis is already tracking far more positively than how Nissan’s Infiniti fared in its first full year (2013).

The first model, the G70 sedan, was updated recently and has increased sales this year, though the key to growth has been the addition of the G80 limo and GV80 large luxury SUV. The latter is the most popular Genesis model at this stage, though the brand expects the just-released GV70 medium SUV to become its best-seller.

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2021 GWM Ute Cannon

GWM-Haval: Up 261 per cent – big winner

Best-selling model: GWM Ute (3254 sales; not on sales this time last year)

Fastest-growing model: Haval H2 compact SUV (1936 sales; up 138 per cent)

Great Wall Motors was the first Chinese car maker to go on sale in Australia (in 2009), and the newly named GWM (together with its spin-off SUV brand, Haval) is now truly hitting its straps. Having sold a promising 2094 units in the first six months of 2020, so far this year it has registered more than 7500 vehicles for remarkable growth.

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The Honda Odyssey is being phased out in 2022

Honda: Down 35 per cent – loser

Best-selling model: CR-V (3982 sales; down 29 per cent)

Fastest-growing model: Odyssey (707 sales; up 22 per cent)

The Japanese brand seems to be falling out of favour in Australia. As it moves to a new agency model with fixed pricing, almost every Honda vehicle has experienced a sales decline. The decision to axe the Jazz city car hasn’t helped, but even its biggest nameplates – the Civic and CR-V – are suffering.

The unexpected model defying the trend is the Odyssey people-mover, though this model is also being phased out in 2022 without signs of a replacement.

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2021 Hyundai i30N Hatchback

Hyundai: Up 26 per cent – small winner

Best-selling model: i30 small car (13,139 sales; up 28 per cent)

Fastest-growing model: Venue small SUV (3176 sales; up 89 per cent)

Straddling a fine line between ‘Winner’ and ‘Inbetweener’ with its 26 per cent growth just below the overall market, Hyundai has been particularly frustrated by supply issues. Affected models include its vital, new-generation Tucson SUV. While Tucson sales are down 15 per cent consequently, the potential growth can be seen in the Korean brand’s other SUVs.

The Venue and Kona compact SUVs are up 89 and 51 per cent, respectively, while Hyundai’s largest SUV, the new Palisade, is already selling strongly with 1848 units so far – and without compromising its traditional seven-seater SUV, the Santa Fe (2990 sales, up 21 per cent). The i30 small car has also remained its best-selling model, and a regular top 10 model every month.

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2021 Isuzu D-Max

Isuzu Ute: Up 88 per cent – big winner

Best-selling and fastest-growing model: D-Max ute (13,805 sales; up 109 per cent)

This year is turning out to be some year for Isuzu Ute. While long popular in Australia, the brand that sells just one ute and just one SUV is achieving sensational figures. A new-generation D-Max ute is doing most of the work with triple-digit growth, though the MU-X SUV that’s based on the D-Max is also surprising – up 48 per cent despite its own replacement model going on sale in August.

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2021 Jaguar F-Pace P380

Jaguar: Down 19 per cent – loser

Best-selling model: E-Pace compact SUV (347 sales; down 24 per cent)

Fastest-growing model: F-Type sports car (29 sales; up 71 per cent)

The British brand’s struggles continue in 2021, with half-year sales of 703 units down nearly 20 per cent. None of its SUVs are firing locally as would be hoped; sales of the E-Pace, F-Pace and electric i-Pace have dropped. And with the 3 Series-rivalling XE also down, by 36 per cent, it leaves two low-volume models to bring the only growth in the line-up.

The F-Type coupe/convertible is up nearly 70 per cent (29 units) and the XF large sedan is up 65 per cent (28 units).

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2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Jeep: Up 71 per cent – winner

Best-selling model: Grand Cherokee large SUV (1666 sales; up 43 per cent)

Fastest-growing model: Gladiator ute (572 sales; up 255 per cent)

Jeep is back in Australia’s good books, it seems. The famous US 4WD manufacturer is still a long way from returning to five-figure annual sales (last achieved in 2016), but 2021 could match, or even beat, the 8000-plus units last registered in 2017.

Jeep is just short of 4000 units at the year’s half-way point, with all models increasing sales. The new-generation Wrangler off-roader continues to perform well (up 89 per cent to exactly 1000 units), while the spin-off Gladiator ute is the brand’s fastest-growing model. The ever-popular Grand Cherokee is also up 43 per cent – despite a long-awaited, next-generation version due in late 2021.

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2022 Kia Cerato GT Sport

Kia: Up 43 per cent – winner

Best-selling model: Cerato small car (10,756 sales; up 20 per cent)

Fastest-growing model: Picanto micro car (3770 sales; up 122 per cent)

It’s not out of the realms of possibility Kia could perform the previously unthinkable in 2021: outselling its more senior Korean stablemate (and majority shareholder) Hyundai. Kia has already beaten Hyundai in two of the six months so far, and was the third most popular brand in Australia in May.

The Cerato, recently updated, is still by far its most successful model locally – and up 20 per cent compared with this period last year. New-generation versions of the Sorento large SUV and Carnival people-mover have also shone since their release towards the end of 2020 – up 115 and 61 per cent, respectively. The brand’s fastest-growing model is an unexpected one, however – the diminutive Picanto.

Lamborghini: Up 50 per cent – winner

Best-selling and fastest-growing model: Urus SUV (46 sales; up 84 per cent)

Lamborghini is just six units short of matching Italian rival Ferrari up to the year’s half-way point – 81 versus 87 vehicles. The Urus SUV is outselling the company’s supercar combination of Huracan and Aventador.

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2021 Land Rover Defender

Land Rover: Up three per cent – small winner

Best-selling model: Range Rover Sport (1155 sales; up 10 per cent)

Fastest-growing model: Defender (912 sales; not sold this time last year)

The other half of the JLR equation is at least posting some growth, unlike Jaguar. The all-new, modern Defender is already closing on Land Rover’s most popular vehicle, the Range Rover Sport, and in the second half of 2021 the five-door 110 will be joined by the three-door 90. It appears the Defender 110 is cannibalising some sales of the company’s seven-seater Discovery, which is down 51 per cent (to 243 units). The smaller Discovery Sport is faring slightly worse, with a 62 per cent drop (to 334 units).

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LDV T60 Trailrider

LDV: Up 127 per cent – big winner

Best-selling model: T60 ute (3337 sales; up 84 per cent)

Fastest-growing model: D90 SUV (664 sales; up 235 per cent)

Compare the first halves of 2021 and 2020 and LDV – the British van brand turned Chinese multi-vehicle manufacturer – has grown sales from 3163 to 7184 units. That’s a huge 127 per cent increase. Leading the way is the T60 ute that accounts for almost half of sales, though ‘fastest-growing-model’ status goes to the D90 SUV (up 235 per cent to 664 units). There are also notable volume increases for the G10 van (up 162 per cent) and its related people-mover (up 59 per cent).