Australia 2005: Commodore & Falcon still dominate but slow down

Holden Commodore

* See the Top 50 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

The Australian market is getting closer and closer to the million annual units, breaking its record for the third consecutive time at 985,057 registrations, up 3% on 2004. The Holden Commodore is the best selling car in Australia for the 10th consecutive year but at 66,794 sales and 6.8% (-15%), it delivers its lowest annual volume since 1994. It ranked #1 10 times and peaked at 8.2% in March. The Ford Falcon is 2nd at 53,080 units and 5.4% (-19%), its weakest volume since 1991. It was #1 in August at 6.8%, its best share this year and the last time the Falcon managed to rank #1 in Australia.

Toyota Corolla

2005 was the year the Toyota Corolla ranked #1 for the very first time. It did so in September with a best-ever 6.1% share, the first time an imported model was #1 since the Hyundai Excel in June 1998 and only the second time ever since World War 2! It finished the year at #3 with 46,415 sales and 4.7% share, up 19% on 2004. The Toyota Camry is down 10% at #4 – it peaked at 5% in December – ahead of the Holden Astra (+31%) peaking at #3 in February. The Mazda3 is 6th for its first full year with 3.3% (+48%), it landed in the podium for the first time in January.

Ford Territory

The Ford Territory is the only new entrant in the Yearly Top 10 at #9 with 23,454 sales and 2.4%, peaking at a best-ever 2.9% (#7) in December. The Mitsubishi Triton broke into the Top 10 in June and the VW Golf is up 57% to #30. Two significant launches occured in October: Toyota abandoned the Echo nameplate to launch the Yaris, already #11 in November, and Mitsubishi replaced the Magna/Verada by the 380, ranking #12 in November at 2.1%, which unfortunately will end up being its career best.

Previous year: Australia 2004: Commodore undisputed leader

Next year: Australia 2006: Commodore limits fall thanks to new gen, Falcon down to #3!

Full Year 2005 Top 50 and every monthly Top 50 below.