VFACTS - the top-selling cars in Australia in 2017

Last year Australians bought more new cars than ever, with official sales figures compiled by VFACTS revealing that 1,189,116 vehicles were shifted out of showrooms across the country – a 0.9 percent increase on 2016, and the fourth consecutive record-breaking year of sales.

More significantly, 2017 was also the first year where SUV sales eclipsed those of regular passenger cars. A grand total of 465,646 SUVs rolled into driveways last year, compared with 450,012 hatches, sedans, wagons and sports cars. The balance of power is rapidly shifting.

But it was neither an SUV nor a passenger car that topped the pile in 2017. The Toyota Hilux was the highest-selling individual model, capitalising not just on evergreen baseline demand for durable utes from the commercial sector, but also the rising popularity of dual-cab 4x4 utilities among family buyers.

Second place also went to a ute, with the Ford Ranger taking the runner-up slot. The Toyota Corolla, long a sales leader, was relegated to third. Even the Mitsubishi Triton placed well, coming just 15 cars behind the Toyota Camry – another traditional favourite with Aussie motorists.

What did the rest of the bestseller list look like? Here’s WhichCar’s segment-by-segment breakdown:

SUV Small
1. Mitsubishi ASX – 19,403
2. Mazda CX-3 – 17,490
3. Nissan Qashqai – 13,495
4. Honda HR-V – 11,843
5. Subaru XV – 10,161

SUV Medium
1. Mazda CX-5 – 25,831
2. Hyundai Tucson – 23,828
3. Toyota RAV4 – 21,077
4. Nissan X-Trail – 18,955
5. Mitsubishi Outlander – 16,632

6

SUV Large
1. Toyota Prado – 15,982
2. Toyota Kluger – 12,509
3. Subaru Outback – 11,340
4. Holden Captiva – 9588
5. Mazda CX-9 – 9012

SUV Small (premium)
1. BMW X1 – 3658
2. Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class – 3321
3. Audi Q3 – 2843
4. Audi Q2 – 1999
5. Mini Countryman – 797

SUV Medium (premium)
1. Land Rover Discovery Sport – 4547
2. Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class – 4109
3. BMW X3 – 3671
4. Lexus NX – 3390
5. Audi Q5 – 3364

6

SUV Large (premium)
1. BMW X5 – 3582
2. Range Rover Sport – 2983
3. Audi Q7 – 2664
4. Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class – 2257
5. Lexus RX - 1858

Passenger Light
1. Hyundai Accent - 17,578
2. Mazda 2 – 12,101
3. Toyota Yaris – 11,226
4. Honda Jazz - 7301
5. Kia Rio - 6852

Passenger Small
1. Toyota Corolla – 37,353
2. Mazda 3 - 32,690
3. Hyundai i30 – 28,780
4. Kia Cerato – 18,731
5. Volkswagen Golf – 18,454

6

Passenger Medium
1. Toyota Camry – 23,620
2. Mazda 6 – 3647
3. Ford Mondeo – 2959
4. Volkswagen Passat – 2463
5. Subaru Liberty – 2023

Passenger Large
1. Holden Commodore – 23,676
2. Toyota Aurion – 2701
3. Skoda Superb – 984
4. Kia Stinger – 504
5. Ford Falcon – 210

People Movers
1. Kia Carnival – 5878
2. Honda Odyssey – 2184
3. Volkswagen Multivan – 1076
4. Hyundai iMax – 987
5. Toyota Tarago – 958

Passenger Small (premium)
1. Audi A3 – 5117
2. Mercedes-Benz A-Class - 4768
3. BMW 1 Series - 2105
4. Mercedes-Benz B-Class - 1330
5. Volvo V40 - 908

6

Passenger Medium (premium)
1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 8549
2. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 3445
3. BMW 3 Series – 2584
4. Audi A4 - 2117
5. Lexus IS – 1524

Passenger Large (premium)
1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 1896
2. BMW 5 Series – 1245
3. Audi A6 – 315
4. Jaguar XF – 249
5. Maserati Ghibli – 219

6

Sports Cars
1. Ford Mustang – 9165
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe/convertible – 2818
3. Hyundai Veloster – 1935
4. BMW 2 Series coupe/convertible – 1750
5. Toyota 86 – 1619

Utility 4x4 and 4x2
1. Toyota Hilux – 47,093
2. Ford Ranger – 42,728
3. Mitsubishi Triton – 23,605
4. Holden Colorado – 21,579
5. Isuzu D-Max – 17,717