Australia August 2014: Toyota Corolla takes tiny steps towards annual #1

Toyota Corolla

* See the Top 15 best-selling models and Top 47 All-brands by clicking on the title! *

2014 won’t be a record year in Australia, it is now almost certain. With August sales down a disappointing 5.5% year-on-year to 88,157 registrations, the year-to-date total after 8 months now lags almost 20,000 units off last year at the same time at 737,975 – down 2.5%. Furthermore, new vehicle sales declined in every Australian state in territory in August, with the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland even reporting double-digit percentage drops.

Brand-wise, Toyota falls 12% but remains on top by far with 17.7% share while Holden (-19%) saves its 2nd spot for 34 units only above Hyundai up an impressive 10% to 9.8% share in third position. Jeep is up 29% to #11 and 3% share, BMW and Audi are both up 21% to #13 and #15 respectively, Isuzu is up 64%, Renault up 56%, Land Rover and Porsche both up 40% and Maserati up 475% thanks to the Ghibli.

Hyundai now threatens Holden for 2nd spot in the brands ranking.

In the models ranking, the Toyota Corolla enjoys its 6th consecutive month atop the sales charts in spite of sales down 12% year-on-year to 3,247 compared to the harsh 25% drop of the Mazda3 to 3,124 units. Little by little, the Toyota Corolla is inching its way towards a 2nd year atop the annual Australian sales rankings, now spoting a still very shy 144 unit-advantage over the Mazda3 year-to-date (29,213 vs. 29,069). Below the Toyota Hilux up 1% in third position, the Hyundai i30 overtakes the Holden Commodore (disappointingly down 17%) to hold the #4 spot for the third time in the past 12 months after November 2013 and January 2014. The Ford Ranger is up a beautiful 32% in 6th place, the Mitsubishi Triton up 31% at #7 while the Mazda CX-5 is once again the best-selling SUV in the country in spite of sales down 14% and the Holden Colorado at #10 makes it 4 utes inside the Top 10 like last month. Notice also the Jeep Grand Cherokee still extremely strong at #11.

Previous post: Australia: More Historical data now available

Previous month: Australia July 2014: Corolla edges past Mazda3 year-to-date

One year ago: Australia August 2013: Mazda3 #1, Toyota RAV4 hits all-time high

Full August 2014 Top 15 models and Top 47 All-brands Ranking Tables below.