Australia January 2024: Record market, Ford Ranger #1, Toyota (+34%), Isuzu Ute (+40.7%) shine

The Ford Ranger is #1 in Australia for the 4th consecutive month.

12/02 update: Now with Top 305 All models ranking.

It’s a new January record for new vehicle sales in Australia with volumes up 5.8% year-on-year to 89,782 units. The previous record dated back to January 2018 at 88,551. Private sales edge up 2.6% to 47,400, business fleets are up 11.7% to 32,309, rentals down -4.6% to 4,394 and government fleets up 31.3% to 2,762. Petrol sales are down -5.8% to 42,247, diesel is up 8.8% to 28,923, increasing its market share in stark contrast with the rest of the world, HEVs are up 91.2% to 9,821, BEVs up 0.8% to 4,893 and PHEVs up 123.7% to 980. SUVs gain 6.7% to 49,830 and 55.5% share vs. 55% a year ago and 52.2% in January 2022. LCVs soar 11.1% to 20,601 and 22.9% share vs. 21.9% in January 2023 and 24.1% two years ago. Passenger cars drop -1% to 16,434 and 18.3% share vs. 19.6% a year ago and 20.7% in 2022. 

As for sales by State and Territories, New South Wales is up 1.2% to 26,791 units, Victoria up 6.3% to 23,770, Queensland up 5.4% to 19,786, Western Australia up 25.4% to 9,911, South Australia up 3.7% to 5,999, Tasmania down -1.1% to 1,493, Australian Capital Territory down -7.5% to 1,290 and Northern Territory up 11.6% to 742. Looking at the country of origin, Japan is up 19.9% to 28,224 sales, Thailand down -1.4% to 20,153, China up 3.3% to 12,902, South Korea down -1% to 12,476 and Germany down -9.9% to 3,380.

In the brands ranking, Toyota (+34%) rallies back up on supply-constrained year-ago volumes to 19.9% share, its highest since last August. Mazda (-13.2%) is in difficulty at #2 with 9.1% share while Ford is stable at #3. Hyundai (+6.1%) is back above Kia (-5%) with Mitsubishi (+12%) sandwiched between the two. MG (-0.2%) endures a rare loss but returns to #7, the ranking it held over the Full Year 2023. Isuzu Ute (+40.7%) scores the largest year-on-year lift in the Top 17 while GWM (+24.8%) repeats inside the Top 10 at #9. Subaru (-14.8%) disappoints and closes out the Top 10. Below, BYD (+390.6%), Land Rover (+190%), Lexus (+73.9%), Porsche (+29.8%) and LDV (+27.3%) stand out. 

Model-wise, the Ford Ranger (stable) signs a 4th consecutive month in pole position, confirming it is the new favourite of Australian buyers above the Toyota Hilux (-0.9%). The Ranger also starts with a bang in the lucrative 4×4 pickup segment with 4,334 sales vs. 3.478 for the Hilux. As it was also the case over the Full Year 2023, the Isuzu D-Max (+37.9%) makes the podium 100% pickup trucks. The Toyota RAV4 (+12.9%) and Mitsubishi Outlander (+24.1%) lead the SUV charts while the Toyota Corolla (+69.3%) is the best-selling passenger car in the country at #6 above the Hyundai i30 (+10.4%) at #9. The Toyota Prado (+47.7%) surges ahead, with the Toyota Land Cruiser Wagon (+46.9%), Hyundai Kona (+120.3%), Toyota Kluger (+84.4%) and Isuzu MU-X (+47%) also in excellent shape.

Previous post: Australia Full Year 2023: Exclusive Top 10 models by State and Territory

One year ago: Australia January 2023: Ford Ranger #1, Tesla Model 3 #3 in market up 11.9% to best January in 5 years

Full January 2023 Top 50 All brands and Top 305 All models below.