While Toyota still leads the sales race with April sales more than double the nearest rival, the big news is number two – Mazda ahead of Holden.
Total April sales (79,097) were up by 6.6 per cent compared to April 2011 with Toyota dominating, posting 16,568 for the month, a market share of 20.9 per cent. Highlighting Toyota’s dominance, monthly Toyota sales were more than double the total of Mazda and Holden combined and, for the sixth time, its HiLux ute was Australia’s most popular individual model with April sales of 3,565 – more than 500 units ahead of the next best-selling model (Mazda3).
But the big April news is Mazda, buoyed by huge interest in its all-new CX-5 medium SUV (1,413 sales), recording 7,681 sales, to beat Holden (7,589) into second place. Holden says shortages of stock for Colorado and Barina restricted its April result.
Hyundai maintained fourth place with 7,017 sales ahead of Ford with 6,306.
Good news too for Volkswagen – 3,798 sales in April, 50 better than Mitsubishi.
In the luxury brands, Mercedes-Benz maintains its leadership with 1,583 sales for the month, ahead of BMW (1,353). Year-to-date, ‘Benz has racked-up 6,174 sales while BMW has posted 5,415.
No change to the overall trend – passenger car sales overall down by 2.5 per cent compared to April 2011 while SUV sales were up by 27.8 per cent.
Commenting on his company’s continuing popularity, Matthew Callachor, Toyota’s sales and marketing chief pointed to the HiLux for its number one best-seller status. “Consumers rate HiLux above any other vehicle for its off-roading capability and other attributes, including performance, lifestyle and value. Almost one in two HiLux buyers already own a Toyota while more than half say they are likely to choose another Toyota for their next vehicle.”
