Australia: 1982-2019 Nameplates records now available

January 8, 2020
Matt Gasnier

The Mitsubishi ASX is one of 8 record-breaking nameplates in the Top 75 in 2019.

Discover 75 years worth of Australian Historical Data here.

This is a BSCB exclusive summary of the most popular nameplates in Australia from 1982 to 2019. They are ranked by annual volume record, with info on their record market share and position as well as the year these three milestones were achieved. No surprise on top: the Holden Commodore holds the nameplate all-time record with 94.642 units sold in 1998, but it’s the Ford Falcon that holds the record share over the period at 15.3% in 1987. It’s fair to say that these records are in safe hands: with the fragmentation of the market, last year’s leader has sold just under 48.000 units for a 4.5% share.

The Holden Commodore sold a record 94.642 units in Australia in 1998.

This ranking has now been updated with 2019 figures, and 8 nameplates erase their previous volume records this year, starting with the Mitsubishi Triton at #23, followed by the Toyota RAV4 at #26 which is a very important milestone for a vehicle that launched the SUV craze back in the 1990s. The Kia Cerato, Mitsubishi ASX, Mitsubishi Outlander, Subaru Forester, Hyundai Kona and VW Tiguan also notch new all-time highs volumes inside the Top 75, most often accompanied by share and ranking records – the Forester only beating its volume record. 2 nameplates only break one non-volume record this year: the Nissan X-Trail has a new share best and the Toyota Prado has a new ranking best.

The Ford Falcon holds the Australian market share record in the past 30 years at 15.3%.

Note that the Commodore’s market share record is a nowadays-impossible 12.8% reached in 1996, while the Ford Falcon, whose volume record was reached in 1995 (81.366), holds the all-time market share record at 15.3% in 1987. The Toyota Corolla is the third most popular nameplate in Australia over the past 34 years with a record of 47.901 sales in 2008. The Mazda3 follows, ahead of the Hyundai Excel, Toyota Hilux and Camry and Mitsubishi Magna.

Toyota Corolla in Broken Hill, Australia – April 2008