Australia 2003: Ford Falcon teases Holden Commodore

Holden Commodore

* See the Top 50 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to David *

The Australian car market absolutely destroys its record in 2003, up 10% year-on-year to 909,811 registrations, its first time above 900,000 units. The Holden Commodore is king again, however with 86,553 sales (-2%) it drops below 10% market share for the first time since 1991 to 9.5%. Reversely, the Ford Falcon enjoys a stellar first full year of sales of the 2002 BA generation, with 73,220 units sold, a 34% progression over the 2002 figure and its highest volume since 1996. It even ranked #1 in September when it peaked at 9.5%.

Ford Falcon

The Toyota Camry (up 25%) and Corolla (up 3%) swap positions, while the Holden Astra stays 5th ahead of the Toyota Hilux (+1) and Mitsubishi Magna/Verada (-1). The Mazda 323 excels at a best-ever #8 and +32%, as does the Holden Rodeo, up 24% to #10 while the Ford Falcon Ute manages to rank within the Top 10 for the 2nd consecutive year, again beating the Holden Commodore Ute at #13 and +25%.

Further down, the Toyota Echo is up 10 spots and 94% on 2002 to #14, the Toyota Prado takes the lead of the SUV segment at #15, up 84% followed by the Toyota Land Cruiser at #16 (+19%), the Nissan X-Trail at #19 (+28%), the Toyota RAV4 at #20 (-1%) and the Subaru Forester at #21 (+19%). Other big movers include the Mazda6 up 118% to #18, the Hyundai Getz up 316% to #22 and the Honda Jazz up 505% to #27.

Previous year: Australia 2002: Commodore in command, breaks monthly record

Next year: Australia 2004: Commodore undisputed leader

Full Year 2003 Top 50 and Monthly Top 20 Ranking Tables below.