VFACTS JUNE 2021: New-car sales stumble as utes dominate podium

Australia’s new-car market has experienced its first stumble of the year after registering its second-worst June result since 2011.

A total of 110,664 vehicles were sold last month, according to the latest industry figures released today. While it represents the highest monthly sales of 2021 so far, June is the first month of the year to post negligible growth – less than 0.5 per cent compared with June 2020.

June is traditionally the strongest sales month owing to end of financial year deals and business practices, but global semi-conductor shortages have been playing havoc with supply.

The latest round of state lockdowns wouldn’t have helped, even if the worst-affected state in June – New South Wales – was down less than one per cent.

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Industry body the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) played down the parts shortage and Covid issues, adopting an optimistic outlook and remaining confident the market would surpass one million sales in 2021.

“In spite of some states being forced into Covid-19 lockdowns towards the end of June, the acquisition of a new vehicle remains a popular option for buyers across all market segments,” said FCAI chief executive Tony Weber.

“The delivery challenges caused by microprocessor shortages and bottlenecks in the supply chain are yet to be fully resolved, however all parties are continuing to find ways to meet the strong demand for customers across all sectors.

“Right now, we would expect customer demand across all segments to remain strong for the second half of 2021 which has the market on track to return to a result in excess of one million vehicles.”

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Last month’s result was just 430 vehicles above June 2020, which was affected by the developing Covid-19 crisis. Both months are well below results achieved in Junes going back to 2012 (see table further below).

June’s result has dropped the market’s year-to-date growth from its May high of 38 per cent to 28 per cent.

With 567,468 total year-to-date sales, the market is more than halfway to a million units at the halfway stage of 2021.

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The Ford Ranger topped the sales charts for individual models, with the Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max finishing second and third, respectively, to create a rare event where utes accounted for the top three model places.

Toyota was again the best-selling brand in Australia.

Read on for more details about June’s top 10 models and top 10 brands.

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June new-car sales history (past 11 years)

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Top 10 models

The Ford Ranger ute smashed through the 6000-sales barrier for another sensational top-of-the-charts result, pushing it above the Toyota HiLux (5412 units) for a second time this year.

In a rare event, utes occupied the top three positions as the Isuzu D-Max continued its remarkable 2021 run by taking the final step on the sales podium with 3167 units – almost double its June 2020 tally of 1642 units.

It’s the highest ranking achieved by the D-Max, which had already impressed by finishing fourth in May.

Mitsubishi’s Triton completed the common sight of four utes in the top 10, albeit down in ninth.

The Mazda CX-5 enjoyed its second month of 2021 with more than 3000 sales, making it the most popular SUV in June.

Toyota’s RAV4 hadn’t finished outside the top 3 in 2021 previously but was down in seventh with 2501 units, its lowest monthly figure so far this year.

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Last month it was outsold by its larger stablemate, the Prado (2610 sales). June was the Prado’s second consecutive month in the top 10, though the LandCruiser wagon’s incredible sales run – driven by demand for its last ever V8 – seems to be over.

After posting results of 2595 and 2795 in April and June, respectively, just 1162 LandCruisers were sold in the month the next-generation ‘300 Series’ model was unveiled.

The RAV4 remains the best-selling SUV in Australia based on accumulated sales.

Sales of the Kia Cerato small car were inspired by an updated model – up 35 per cent on June last year to take fifth place. It was the Cerato’s first top 10 appearance since February.

The Hyundai i30 and Toyota Corolla remain the two other small cars that refuse to be budged from the top 10 despite the country’s obsession with utes and SUVs.

Both models have featured in every monthly top 10 so far this year, though the Corolla’s near-30-per-cent drop on June 2020 almost cost it a place in June. The MG ZS wasn’t far behind – 2073 units versus the Toyota’s 2175.

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Top 10 brands

Toyota's sales were down eight per cent compared with June 2020, though the Japanese brand still thrashed Mazda in second place – despite its compatriot registering a hugely impressive 12,225 sales (up 30 per cent on this month last year).

Ford made it into a monthly top 10 for the first time in 2021 as those massive Ranger sales propelled it to nearly 8500 units – well above its previous best of 7146 (April 2021).

Kia lost the spot it secured in May, though a June result of 7890 sales (up 38 per cent on June 2020) was still sufficient to beat its parent company Hyundai (7357 units) for the second consecutive month.

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After breaking into the top 10 for the first time in May, Isuzu Ute made it again last month courtesy of 49 per cent month-on-month growth – pipping Mercedes to 10th by less than 100 units.

Chinese brand MG returns to the top 10 after falling out of the leading places in May – even outselling Nissan (down five per cent), which until June had stubbornly occupied seventh place every month of 2021. Comparing June 2021 and 2020 reveals a 219 per cent sales increase for MG.

Mitsubishi and Volkswagen both experienced sales declines for the month – down 24 and 19 per cent, respectively. Seventh is VW’s highest monthly placing this year so far, however.

A 20 per cent month-on-month sales decrease for Subaru saw the Japanese ousted from the top 10 for only the second time in 2020. With 3021 vehicles registered last month, the Japanese brand was outsold by BMW (3078).

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In charts

June 2021 - Top 10 models and growth

June 2021: YTD sales Top 10

June 2021 - Overall segment sales

June 2021-2020 Category YTD sales

June 2021-2020 Category sales