Australia January 2025: Toyota RAV4 secures 7th win in a row in negative market
The Toyota RAV4 is currently the uncontested leader in Australia.
The Australian new vehicle market confirms it will be softer in 2025 after a record 2024. December sales are down -2.4% year-on-year in January to 87,625 units, the 6th decline in the past 7 months. We still remain at very high levels as this is the third largest volume in history for January (add 2018 at 88,551), and sales have been negatively impacted by a shipping port strikes. Private sales drop -7.4% to 43,915, business fleets are up 4.6% to 33,810, sales to rental companies sink -18.6% to 3,576 and government fleets fall -3% to 2,678 units. Note this excludes Polestar, Tesla and heavy commercials. This time including them, petrol sales are off -8% to 38,852, diesel is down -12.3% to 25,372, HEVs continue to jump at +51.1% to 14,836, PHEVs are up 94.7% to 1,908 but BEVs crash -21.7% to 3,832. This means the share of electric cars in Australia is at a miserable 4.4% for the month vs. 5.8% in January 2024 and 9.5% in 2023.
SUVs continue to dominate and gain a further 6.9% to 53,276 and 60.8% share vs. 55.5% in January 2024 and 55% two years ago. This is the first time SUV manage to hold more than 60% of the Australian market. Light commercials fall -10.5% to 18,448 and 21.1% share vs. 22.9% a year ago and 21.9% in 2023 and passenger cars crumble -20.4% to 13,076 and 14.9% vs. 18.3% and 19.6%. Heavy commercials account for 3.2% of the market at 2,825 sales.
Looking at sales by State and Territories, all of them are in negative bar Western Australia (+4.4% to 10,345) and Northern Territory (+4% to 772). New South Wales is down -3.3% to 25,913, Victoria is also down -3.3% to 22,985, Queensland drops -3.1% to 19,167, South Australia is off -2.8% to 5,834, Tasmania down -3% to 1,448 and the Australian Capital Territory is hit the hardest at -10% to 1,161. As for country of origin, Japan is up 7.9% to 30,443, Thailand down -8.2% to 18,501, China off -0.5% to 12,839, South Korea down -12.7% to 10,889 and Germany up 13.8% to 3,846.
In the brands charts, Toyota (+2.9%) hits its largest market share since last August at 21%, while Mazda (+1.9%), traditionally stronger in January, passes Ford (+3.1%) for 2nd place and secures its highest share since January 2023 at 9.5%. Kia (+0.2%) stays at #4 ahead of Mitsubishi (-3.9%), Hyundai (-11.1%) and MG (-6.6%) all losing share year-on-year. In contrast GWM reaches its highest ever ranking at #8, also hit in December 2023 and November 2024, and its highest share at 3.9% also hit in December 2023. Nissan (+12.4%) is also in excellent shape as is Chery (+152%), managing its highest ever scores at #13, 1,837 sales and 2.1% share. Tesla (-33.2%) and BYD (-48.5%) struggle, although the latter has not included 450 sales of the new Shark 6 PHEV pickup which will be reported in February. Chinese JAC makes its entrance at #32 with 204 sales of its T9 pickup.
Model-wise, the Toyota RAV4 (+129.6%) is the best-selling vehicle in the country for the 7th consecutive month and 8th time in the past 10 months, positioning itself ideally for a Full Year 2025 win although this is still very far away. The Ford Ranger (-10.4%) and Toyota Hilux (-19.3%) recede significantly to round out the podium just as the Toyota Prado (+63.1%) takes full advantage of the new generation to repeat at #4 and post a third straight month in the Top 4 after ranking #3 in November. The Mitsubishi Outlander (+0.6%) is stables and climbs back up four spots on December to return to the 5th spot it held over the Full Year 2024. All remaining Top 10 models bar the Isuzu D-Max (-17.9%) are in positive: the Ford Everest (+42.8%) performing best with the Kia Sportage (+9.7%), Mazda CX-5 (+8.8%) and CX-3 (+5.5%) also strong.
Previous post (1): Australia Full Year 2024: Toyota RAV4 teases Ford Ranger in record market
Previous post (2): Australia Full Year 2024: Exclusive Top 10 models by State and Territory
One year ago: Australia January 2024: Record market, Ford Ranger #1, Toyota (+34%), Isuzu Ute (+40.7%) shine
Full January 2025 Top 50 All brands and Top 50 models below.
Australia January 2025 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Jan-25 | % | /24 | Dec | FY24 |
| 1 | Toyota | 18,424 | 21.0% | + 2.9% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Mazda | 8,322 | 9.5% | + 1.9% | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Ford | 6,830 | 7.8% | + 3.1% | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Kia | 5,720 | 6.5% | + 0.2% | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Mitsubishi | 5,681 | 6.5% | – 3.9% | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Hyundai | 5,478 | 6.3% | – 11.1% | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | MG | 3,740 | 4.3% | – 6.6% | 8 | 7 |
| 8 | GWM | 3,433 | 3.9% | + 9.9% | 9 | 10 |
| 9 | Nissan | 3,035 | 3.5% | + 12.4% | 7 | 9 |
| 10 | Subaru | 2,924 | 3.3% | – 4.7% | 12 | 11 |
| 11 | Isuzu Ute | 2,872 | 3.3% | – 23.6% | 11 | 8 |
| 12 | Volkswagen | 2,314 | 2.6% | – 14.8% | 13 | 13 |
| 13 | Chery | 1,837 | 2.1% | + 152.0% | 17 | 22 |
| 14 | Mercedes | 1,756 | 2.0% | + 28.6% | 15 | 15 |
| 15 | Suzuki | 1,431 | 1.6% | – 6.3% | 19 | 16 |
| 16 | BMW | 1,401 | 1.6% | – 12.5% | 14 | 14 |
| 17 | Honda | 1,260 | 1.4% | – 6.4% | 22 | 20 |
| 18 | LDV | 1,193 | 1.4% | – 34.2% | 21 | 18 |
| 19 | Audi | 1,014 | 1.2% | + 0.5% | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | Lexus | 969 | 1.1% | + 11.0% | 20 | 21 |
| 21 | Tesla | 739 | 0.8% | – 33.2% | 10 | 12 |
| 22 | BYD | 675 | 0.8% | – 48.5% | 16 | 17 |
| 23 | Volvo | 560 | 0.6% | – 13.0% | 23 | 23 |
| 24 | Porsche | 468 | 0.5% | – 5.6% | 24 | 25 |
| 25 | Renault | 419 | 0.5% | + 1.9% | 27 | 26 |
| 26 | Land Rover | 405 | 0.5% | – 22.4% | 25 | 24 |
| 27 | Mini | 349 | 0.4% | + 60.8% | 30 | 30 |
| 28 | Skoda | 329 | 0.4% | – 32.2% | 32 | 28 |
| 29 | Chevrolet | 322 | 0.4% | + 12.6% | 26 | 29 |
| 30 | KGM Ssangyong | 312 | 0.4% | – 33.3% | 31 | 27 |
| 31 | Ram | 246 | 0.3% | – 27.6% | 29 | 31 |
| 32 | JAC | 204 | 0.2% | new | – | – |
| 33 | Cupra | 187 | 0.2% | + 27.2% | 28 | 33 |
| 34 | Fiat | 183 | 0.2% | + 32.6% | 38 | 34 |
| 35 | Jeep | 145 | 0.2% | – 47.5% | 33 | 32 |
| 36 | Peugeot | 107 | 0.1% | – 27.2% | 36 | 35 |
| 37 | Genesis | 105 | 0.1% | – 19.2% | 35 | 37 |
| 38 | Polestar | 82 | 0.1% | – 45.7% | 34 | 36 |
| 39 | Jaguar | 40 | 0.0% | – 36.5% | 39 | 38 |
| 40 | Alfa Romeo | 34 | 0.0% | – 63.8% | 40 | 39 |
| 41 | Lamborghini | 25 | 0.0% | + 177.8% | 43 | 41 |
| 42 | Maserati | 24 | 0.0% | + 0.0% | 41 | 40 |
| 43 | Leapmotor | 22 | 0.0% | new | 37 | 48 |
| 44 | Aston Martin | 7 | 0.0% | – 12.5% | 44 | 45 |
| 45 | Bentley | 5 | 0.0% | – 73.7% | 42 | 43 |
| 46 | Lotus | 5 | 0.0% | – 44.4% | 47 | 44 |
| 47 | Rolls-Royce | 5 | 0.0% | + 66.7% | 48 | 49 |
| 48 | Ferrari | 3 | 0.0% | – 78.6% | 46 | 42 |
| 49 | McLaren | 2 | 0.0% | – 33.3% | 45 | 47 |
| 50 | Citroen | 1 | 0.0% | – 85.7% | 49 | 46 |
Australia January 2025 – models:
| Pos | Model | Jan-25 | % | /23 | Dec | FY24 |
| 1 | Toyota RAV4 | 5,076 | 5.1% | + 129.6% | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Ford Ranger | 4,254 | 4.3% | – 10.4% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Toyota Hilux | 3,302 | 3.3% | – 19.3% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Toyota Prado | 2,847 | 2.9% | + 63.1% | 4 | 37 |
| 5 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 2,090 | 2.1% | + 0.6% | 9 | 5 |
| 6 | Isuzu D-Max | 2,086 | 2.1% | – 17.9% | 6 | 4 |
| 7 | Mazda CX-5 | 1,872 | 1.9% | + 8.8% | 14 | 8 |
| 8 | Kia Sportage | 1,826 | 1.8% | + 9.7% | 7 | 10 |
| 9 | Ford Everest | 1,679 | 1.7% | + 42.8% | 5 | 6 |
| 10 | Mazda CX-3 | 1,608 | 1.6% | + 5.5% | 17 | 13 |
| 11 | Toyota Corolla | 1,583 | 1.6% | – 16.2% | 15 | 7 |
| 12 | Hyundai Tucson | 1,433 | 1.4% | – 4.8% | 18 | 12 |
| 13 | Mitsubishi ASX | 1,304 | 1.3% | + 38.0% | 26 | 29 |
| 14 | Hyundai Kona | 1,301 | 1.3% | – 4.9% | 27 | 17 |
| 15 | GWM Haval Jolion | 1,286 | 1.3% | + 21.9% | 12 | 24 |
| 16 | Mitsubishi Triton | 1,223 | 1.2% | – 11.6% | 13 | 14 |
| 17 | MG ZS | 1,212 | 1.2% | – 35.8% | 20 | 9 |
| 18 | Mazda BT-50 | 1,179 | 1.2% | + 1.2% | 22 | 22 |
| 19 | MG 3 | 1,151 | 1.2% | + 28.5% | 16 | 28 |
| 20 | Nissan X-Trail | 1,122 | 1.1% | + 20.8% | 8 | 16 |
| 21 | Mazda CX-30 | 1,085 | 1.1% | + 4.3% | 29 | 27 |
| 22 | Mazda3 | 1,026 | 1.0% | – 1.3% | 28 | 32 |
| 23 | Chery Tiggo 4 Pro | 1,018 | 1.0% | new | 33 | 116 |
| 24 | Subaru Forester | 961 | 1.0% | – 9.4% | 25 | 25 |
| 25 | Toyota Corolla Cross | 922 | 0.9% | + 19.0% | 34 | 42 |
| 26 | Subaru Crosstrek | 912 | 0.9% | + 12.6% | 30 | 31 |
| 27 | Hyundai i30 | 849 | 0.9% | – 50.8% | 24 | 26 |
| 28 | Toyota Yaris Cross | 849 | 0.9% | + 14.4% | 37 | 46 |
| 29 | Toyota Hiace | 810 | 0.8% | + 5.9% | 23 | 23 |
| 30 | Isuzu MU-X | 786 | 0.8% | – 35.4% | 19 | 15 |
| 31 | Nissan Navara | 750 | 0.8% | + 57.6% | 32 | 35 |
| 32 | Toyota Land Cruiser PU/CC | 730 | 0.7% | – 32.3% | 35 | 30 |
| 33 | GWM Haval H6 | 727 | 0.7% | + 6.8% | 36 | 41 |
| 34 | Suzuki Jimny | 712 | 0.7% | + 19.3% | 49 | 39 |
| 35 | MG 5 | 659 | 0.7% | + 63.1% | 101 | 74 |
| 36 | Subaru Outback | 657 | 0.7% | – 13.0% | 46 | 33 |
| 37 | GWM Ute | 631 | 0.6% | – 7.1% | 43 | 47 |
| 38 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 625 | 0.6% | – 29.1% | 51 | 40 |
| 39 | Nissan Patrol | 621 | 0.6% | + 22.0% | 38 | 45 |
| 40 | Hyundai Venue | 617 | 0.6% | + 13.0% | 52 | 51 |
| 41 | VW Tiguan/Allspace | 617 | 0.6% | – 20.7% | 45 | 43 |
| 42 | Kia Picanto | 616 | 0.6% | + 246.1% | 54 | 61 |
| 43 | Kia Sorento | 601 | 0.6% | – 7.1% | 41 | 38 |
| 44 | Kia Carnival | 589 | 0.6% | – 9.5% | 44 | 34 |
| 45 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 562 | 0.6% | + 90.5% | 61 | 65 |
| 46 | Kia Seltos | 539 | 0.5% | – 20.0% | 76 | 49 |
| 47 | LDV T60/Max | 538 | 0.5% | – 43.6% | 60 | 55 |
| 48 | Kia Stonic | 535 | 0.5% | + 1.3% | 39 | 57 |
| 49 | Mazda2 | 524 | 0.5% | + 23.6% | 65 | 66 |
| 50 | VW T-Roc | 497 | 0.5% | + 6.2% | 55 | 48 |
Source: VFACTS
