Passenger cars bucking the SUV trend in Australia in 2021

SUVs and LCVs currently account for three quarters of Australia’s new-car market, with ever-sliding passenger cars down to nearly one in every five purchases.

No-one will be surprised then that either an SUV or a ute is the best-selling vehicle style for the vast majority of car brands.

Yet there are eight passenger cars defying buying trends to still rule their showrooms.

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2021 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

Passenger car champions

Alfa Romeo Giulia

Italy’s perennially struggling brand Alfa Romeo needed its first SUV, the Stelvio, to make a sales impression. And it was indeed the marque’s top model in 2020, but to August this year it has slipped 64 per cent – allowing the Giulia mid-sized sedan, up 118 per cent with help from an updated line-up, to lead it by 218 to 104 units.

Bentley Continental GT

The new-generation GT coupe and convertible pairing continues to outperform the British luxury brand’s Bentayga SUV, as it did in 2020. However, the gap is just 11 units to August and the Bentayga’s year-to-date growth is significantly higher, so there’s still potential for a position swap before the end of 2021.

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2021 Hyundai i30 N

Citroen C3

That Citroen’s city car is its best-seller with just 57 sales tells you everything about the French brand’s precarious position in Australia. The C3 Aircross small SUV has already been axed owing to poor sales, leaving the C5 Aircross SUV as the only other model in the showroom.

Hyundai i30

Australia’s love affair with the i30 goes back to the original 2007 model and nothing has changed after 14 years. Although sales have been boosted in recent times with the Elantra’s transition to i30 sedan, 17,100 units so far this year is impressive. No other Hyundai has reached five figures, with the Kona compact SUV closest with almost 9500 sales.

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2022 Kia Cerato

Kia Cerato

The i30 story is replicated over at affiliate company Kia, where the Cerato small car twin continues to be untouchable as the brand’s number one. With year-to-date sales up almost 20 per cent, the Cerato (13,485 units) outsells the combined total of Kia’s second and third most popular vehicles, the Seltos and Sportage SUVs (6323 and 5497 units).

Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Mercedes’ smallest car has been a sales phenomenon locally ever since it switched from an MPV style to conventional hatch for the third generation in 2013. Sales are down by a third at the three-quarter mark of 2021, yet the A-Class continues to lead the way for the German brand – ahead of the GLB seven-seater SUV (2615 units) which has surprisingly snuck ahead of the C-Class (2547).

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2022 Mini Hatch and Clubman

Mini hatch

What is the Mini brand without the hatchback that started a retro-inspired, premium-priced revival in 2001? Buyers clearly agree, and the three- and five-door models are comfortably preferred over the Countryman SUV – 1337 to 932 units.

Suzuki Swift

Sales are spread reasonably evenly throughout the Japanese brand’s range, though the Swift city car remains Australia’s favourite Suzuki. Sales are up 14 per cent so far this year, and it’s the only Suzuki so far to exceed 3000 units (3198 sales). Next up is the Vitara SUV, with 2579 sales.

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2021 Aston Martin DBX

Almost there

Aston Martin

Aston’s first ever SUV, the DBX, is outsold by a ‘Coupe/Convertible’ according to VFACTS industry data, but this label covers both the Vantage and DB11 sports cars.

BMW 3 Series

The X3 mid-sized SUV was the best-selling Bimmer in 2020 and it heads the Bavarian pack so far in 2021. However, sales of BMW’s signature model, the 3 Series, are up nearly 30 per cent and closing fast – 2747 units trailing the X3’s 2828 sales. An updated X3 is due towards the end of the year, however.

Rolls-Royce Wraith/Dawn

Multi-millionaires and billionaires with about $650-$800K to spend on some of the world’s finest motor vehicles are so far split evenly between Rolls’s Wraith coupe and Dawn convertible and the company’s first ever SUV, the Cullinan. Rolls-Royce is adamant the Dawn is more than a mere Wraith Drophead, though, so the Cullinan is still on track to become the posh Brit brand’s number one vehicle for the second consecutive year.

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2021 Skoda Octavia RS wagon

Long reign over

Skoda Octavia

The mid-sized, Golf-based Octavia has traditionally been the best-selling Skoda in Australia ever since the Czech brand returned in 2007 – and it was again in 2020.

But the combination of a transition from outgoing to new-generation model in early 2021 and the rise of the SUVs in Skoda's showrooms has seen the Octavia displaced, and unlikely to turn things around by the end of the year.

The top three Skodas are all SUVs, with the compact Kamiq (1612 sales) leading the seven-seater Kodiaq (1482 units) and mid-sized Karoq (1200 units). With 932 sold up to the end of August, Octavia sales are down nearly 20 per cent.