Australia Full Year 2014: Discover the best-sellers State by State

Toyota Hilux

* See each State’s Top 50 best-selling models & Top 30 brands by clicking on the title *

For the 4th consecutive year on BSCB I can share with you the best-sellers in each Australian State/Territory, this time extending the data to the State Top 50 models and Top 30 brands. This is exclusive data you won’t find anywhere else on the web! Like in 2013, the Toyota Hilux is the only nameplate to top 3 States, with the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3 each winning in two and the Holden Commodore in one. The overall Australian market dipped by 2% in 2014 to 1.113.224 sales with Toyota, Holden and Mazda dominating the manufacturers ranking and the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Toyota Hilux atop the models sales charts. However sales by State/Territory vary greatly…

Volkswagen outsells Holden in ACT and the Golf is #2.

Australian Capital Territory (Canberra)

New car sales in ACT are down 3% to 17,277 units and much more fragmented than nationally: Toyota holds just 12% market share (vs. 18.3% nationally) just above Mazda at 11.2% and Hyundai at 8.9%. The big surprise is Volkswagen lodging by far its best performance in the country: only 25 sales off a podium finish and overtaking Holden at 8.8% share. Notice also Jeep (3.2% share), BMW (2.3%) and Audi (2.2%) clearly over-performing on their national level while Mercedes (1.9%) is markedly below.

Illustrating the German manufacturer’s exceptional performance in ACT, the VW Golf is up 10% and two spots on 2013 to finish #2 nameplate below only the Mazda3 while both the VW Polo (#19) and Amarok (#20) find their way inside the Top 20. The Hyundai i30 drops one spot on 2013 to #3, still its highest ranking state-wise, and is followed by the Toyota Corolla and Holden Commodore. The Mazda CX-5 also hits its best State ranking at #6 thanks to sales up 26%, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee breaks into the Top 10 – ACT being the only State/Territory where it does so.

The Audi A3 is among the 50 most popular nameplates in New South Wales.

New South Wales (Sydney)

NSW reinforces its role as the new vehicle locomotive of the country, the only State to see its volume improve on 2013 with sales up 1.5% to 356,174 units. Below Toyota still sovereign at 18% share (but down from 19.1% in 2013), Mazda remains #2 while Hyundai passes Holden to snap up a podium ranking. At #12, Jeep is up even faster than nationally (+47%), while Audi is above BMW. Confirming New South Wales sets the tone for the national market, the Top 10 models is identical to the national one except for the Mazda CX-5 (#8) and Toyota Camry (#9) exchanging spots. The Audi A3 lodges its only Top 50 State ranking, doubling its sales vs. 2013 to #47 and 2,199 units.

The Toyota Land Cruiser Ute is #6 in Northern Territory…

Northern Territory (Darwin)

Expanding from the top North of the country all the way to Alice Springs and Uluru/Ayers Rock, the Nothern Territory is however a minuscule market: down 3.5% to just 10,993 registrations in 2014. Northern Territory is Toyota Territory: the Japanese manufacturer holds an out-of-this-world 38.8% market share here and sells almost 5 times the amount of the #2: a surprisingly strong Mitsubishi. Holden comes in third while Hyundai, Mazda and Nissan all outsell Ford. Suzuki is inside the Top 10, Great Wall is down 48% to #15 but ranked at #10 in 2013 and Foton lands at #21.

…and the Toyota FJ Cruiser is inside the Top 50.

The NT models ranking is a testimony to the implacable domination of Toyota, holding all the Top 6 spots and placing 8 models in the Top 9! The Hilux grabs 11.3% of the market, above the Corolla and Prado. The Land Cruiser Pickup is at a State-best #6 with 2.9% share, as is the Land Cruiser Wagon at #8 and 2.7%. The Hyundai i20 is the best-selling non-Toyota passenger car at #11, a real success with rental companies, while the Mazda3 is down 32% and 8 ranks on 2013 to a paltry #12. The Great Wall V-Series Pickup is down 43% to #28 but ranked #13 in 2013. Finally, notice the Toyota FJ Cruiser lodging its only State Top 50 ranking at #47 and the Nissan Patrol Wagon at #49.

The Holden Colorado reaches its highest State ranking in Queensland.

Queensland (Brisbane)

Sales in Queensland suffer in 2014 at -4% year-on-year but remain well above the 200k mark at 223,519 units. With no recent history of local automotive manufacturing in the State, import-strong carmakers hold more share in Queensland: Toyota sells more than double any other brand at 20.4%, followed by Mazda and Hyundai, then Holden. Mitsubishi remains strong at #5 and 7.7% share vs. 6.2% nationally, while Ford tumbles down to #7 and 6.2% vs. #5 and 7.2% nationally. Isuzu is #13 vs. #17 nationally, whereas Mercedes, BMW and Audi are all frankly weaker than their national levels.

Queensland is the kingdom of pickup trucks, nicknamed “utes” in Australia (for utility): they are 5 in the Top 10 best-sellers. The Toyota Hilux logically takes the lead with just under 10,000 sales, the Mitsubishi Triton remains 5th, the Ford Ranger and Holden Colorado both gain one spot on 2013 to rank #6 and #7 respectively and the Nissan Navara is #10. Add to these the Mazda BT-50 at #14 and the Isuzu D-Max at #17 for the complete picture.

The Holden Commodore is #1 ‘at home’ in South Australia.

South Australia (Adelaide)

The South Australian new vehicle market is down 1% this year to 69,625 sales. This is where Holden started as a saddlery manufacturer in 1856, and will continue manufacturing cars until 2017 in Elizabeth, north of Adelaide. As such, Holden is logically much stronger here but still surrenders the #1 brand title to Toyota, and by a large margin: 9,885 sales and 14.2% vs. 13,157 and 18.9% for the Japanese manufacturer. Once also manufacturing in the State, Mitsubishi was still on the SA podium in 2013 but is down to #4 this year, below Mazda but above Ford and Hyundai, relatively weak here. The Holden Commodore snaps its only State win here like in 2013, comfortably reinforcing its advantage over all other nameplates thanks to sales up 23% to 3,695 units. The Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla follow, with the Ford Ranger (+26%) just below the Toyota Hilux. The Holden Cruze tumbles down 31% and 4 spots to #6 which is still its best State ranking.

The Ford Ranger outsells the Toyota Hilux in Tasmania.

Tasmania (Hobart)

New car sales in Tasmania are the hardest hit in 2014: down 10% year-on-year to 17,571 registrations. Below Toyota at 16.4%, Mitsubishi lodges its best state result in Tasmania in 2nd place with a very strong 10.4% share, improving on the 9.8% it held in 2013. Follow Hyundai (+8%), Holden (-10%) and Ford, down a devastating 34% while Subaru at #8 is also at its State best with 5.9% share. The Toyota Corolla wins the State but is threatened by the Ford Ranger, only 19 units below and outselling the Toyota Hilux in its first and only Australian State this year. The Mitsubishi Triton (#4), Hyundai i20 (#6), Mitsubishi ASX (#7) and Subaru XV (#11) all lodge their highest State ranking here in Tasmania.

Mercedes holds 4.2% of the Victorian car market vs. 2.4% outside.

Victoria (Melbourne)

The Victorian new car market remains above the 300k mark – but just, at -1.5% to 302,722 units in 2014. Here Toyota is weaker (15.7%), Holden stronger (10.5%) and Ford, based and still manufacturing in Geelong south of Melbourne, is logically much stronger than nationally: on the podium despite sales down 11% to 26,669 and 8.8% share. Mazda and Hyundai improve their share on 2013 but are a notch below their national levels. Victorian carbuyers have distinctly posher tastes: Mercedes is up to #9 and 4.2% share vs. 2.4% in the rest of the country, Victoria accounting for a whopping 40% of its national sales.

Almost half of all Renault buyers in Australia are in Victoria.

Similarly, BMW sales in Victoria account for 38.9% of its national total at 2.9% share vs. 1.7% outside of the state and Renault has found 45.6% of its Australian customers in Victoria at 4,564 sales and 1.5% share vs. 0.65% in the rest of the country. The Mazda3 takes the crown in Victoria like in 2013, the Holden Commodore is back above the Toyota Corolla thanks to sales up 13%, the Hyundai i10 is up 4 spots to #4, and the Ford Ranger up 7 to #7. The Mercedes C-Class at #23 and BMW 3 Series at #37 lodge their only 2014 Top 50 State ranking here.

Hyundai holds just under 12% of the Western Australian market.

Western Australia (Perth)

Covering almost half the country, Western Australia is however only the 4th largest-selling state, down a tough 8% on a year ago to 115,343. Toyota reaches its highest market share in Western Australia at 20.7% as does Hyundai at 11.8%, also hitting its highest State ranking at #2. Holden, Ford and Mazda follow while Jeep lodges its very first State Top 10 ranking thanks to 3,591 sales and 3.1% share. Fiat (+53%), Renault (+72%) and, bizarrely, Opel (+47%), now discontinued, are some of the biggest gainers in the Top 50. Toyota holds the two top spots in the models ranking with the Hilux and Corolla, the Hyundai i30 is down 14% but stays on the podium above the Mazda3, the Ford Ranger stays 5th, the Toyota Prado is up 3 spots to #6 and the Hyundai ix35 reaches its highest State ranking at #7, one of 3 Hyundais in the Top 8 along with the i20 at #8.

Previous post: Australia Full Year 2014: Toyota Corolla holds onto top spot

Previous year: Australia Full Year 2013 by State: Toyota Hilux tops 3 states

Two years ago: Australia Full Year 2012: Now with exclusive rankings by State!

Full Year 2014 Top 50 models & Top 30 brands in ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC & WA below.

All rankings include Full Year 2013 figures as well.