Subaru BRZ confirmed as Australia's best-selling sports car, overtaking Mustang

The Subaru BRZ is officially the best-selling sports car in Australia, ending the Ford Mustang's seven-year reign as No.1.

Subaru's coupe registered 1573 units in total to put it on pole position in the 2023 sales race, with Ford's famous pony car in second place with 1475 registrations.

Mustang sales ran out of gas in the last few months of 2023, with stock depleted ahead of the new, seven-generation model's arrival in 2024. After the BRZ overtook it in November for year-to-date sales, it left the Mustang unable to respond.

While Mustang sales dropped 22 percent year on year, BRZ sales grew 35 percent.

BMW's 2 Series grabbed the bronze medal with 1164 sales last year, up 74 percent and just 20 units ahead of the BRZ's twin, the Toyota GR86.

For two other notable models in the Sports Cars Under $80K VFACTS category, there were 653 registrations for the Mazda MX-5 and 449 sales for the Nissan Z.

BMW's larger sporty coupe (and convertible), the 4 Series, took honours in the Sports Cars Over $80K – pipping the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Convertible by 858 units to 808.

In the Over $200K 'Supercar' category, the Porsche 911 reigned supreme again with 558 sales - albeit with the icon's market share slipping from 47 to 41 percent.

Story to here: 5th December 2023

The Subaru BRZ is set to be crowned Australia's best-selling sports car for the first time after overtaking the Ford Mustang in annual sales.

Ford's famous 'pony' car has been unrivalled in the segment since the sixth-generation version had its first full year on sale in 2016.

With Mustang stocks virtually depleted with a new-generation model (pictured below) due in the second quarter of 2024, the BRZ overtook the Ford coupe/cabriolet in November.

Just nine Mustangs were registered last month compared with 117 units of the BRZ, moving the Subaru ahead in the year-to-date race by 1494 to 1470 sales.

Ford says there's "literally just a handful" of outgoing Mustangs left in Australia, suggesting the BRZ can't be caught with just December remaining.

BMW's 2 Series is highly unlikely to catch the BRZ, trailing the BRZ and Mustang with 1066 sales so far in 2023.

Toyota's twin to the BRZ, the GR 86, is the fourth most popular sports car with 1053 sales between January and November.

The 86 has traditionally outsold the BRZ since the nameplates were launched in 2012 and it was Australia's best-selling sports car between 2013 and 2015, before the arrival of the Mustang.

The BRZ outsold the 86 in 2022 – the year both models were released in second-generation guise – though the Subaru launched several months earlier.

In 2024 the BRZ range will add a new 'tS' (tuned by STI) variant.