VFACTS May 2022: New car sales labour towards one million

There were mixed fortunes for car brands in May’s sales results as the industry continues its topsy-turvy 2022.

Australia had 94,383 new cars registered last month, according to official figures. That put May 2022 down six per cent on last May’s 100,809 units, though is also more than 10,000 sales higher than the figure recorded in 2019 – the last May to involve a Federal Election.

Year-to-date sales are down four per cent, suggesting the new-car market could again pass one-million sales despite the ongoing computer-chip crisis.

The passenger car, SUV and light-commercial sectors all dropped, while in the individual segments there was growth only for large cars, large SUVs and medium SUVs.

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An unexpected 38 per cent rise for large cars was driven purely by two models – the Kia Stinger and Skoda Superb, which grew by a combined 132 per cent compared with May 2021.

Large luxury cars fell by 37 per cent.

The ute segment was the most popular last month when combining 4x2 and 4x4 variants that totalled 19,054.

Medium SUVs increased year-on-year to 18,278, ahead of the lifestyle-focused 4x4 utes at 16,285.

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Sales of large SUVs also grew, though light SUVs, small SUVs and upper-large SUVs all decrease compared with May 2021 – by 26, 18 and 24 per cent, respectively.

Electric cars and plug-in hybrids remain a small percentage of overall new-car sales, but continue to enjoy triple-digit growth.

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EV sales jumped 112 per cent year on year, with year-to-date sales of 8543 equating to a four-fold increase compared to this time last year.

PHEV sales were up 184 per cent in May and have increased 111 per cent year-to-date.

Read on for our detailed guide to the winners and losers of the May 2022 sales results.

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Top 10 models

The Toyota HiLux was the stand-out winner in May. Australia’s favourite vehicle surpassed 5000 units to be more 1200 sales clear of the next most popular model, Toyota’s own RAV4 SUV.

Ford’s Ranger was pushed down to third, though the HiLux’s biggest rival is in run-out mode ahead of a new-generation model arriving in July.

An against-the-trend result for the Corolla placed it fourth, as the small car registered more than 3200 sales – up more than 50 per cent on last May’s result. Corolla is still down nearly 10 per cent year to date, however, as the small-car segment in general continues to struggle.

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Mitsubishi’s new-generation Outlander made it into the top 10 for the first time since February, aided by a 135 per cent increase on May 2021. The mid-sized SUV is up 41 per cent year to date.

Outside of the Top 10, the Hyundai Tucson only just missed out with 1711 registrations (up 49 per cent on May 2021).

There was an even greater increase for its twin, the Kia Sportage, which achieved 159 per cent for a May result of 1464 units.

Triple-digit growth for the LandCruiser ute (up 116 per cent on May 2021) pushed it extremely close to the LandCruiser LC300 SUV that was down 51 per cent to 1363 sales.

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The Kia Stinger was a notable performer, too. Sales grew 163 per cent compared to the same period last year for 428 units – with year-to-date sales up 76 per cent.

Subaru’s BRZ – the 2022 MOTOR Sports Car of the Year – enjoyed 211 per cent growth (84 sales).

In the 2022 race to be Australia’s most popular vehicle, the Toyota HiLux is building a seemingly unassailable lead that even a new-generation Ranger will find difficult to overcome.

Top 10 models: May 2022

Top 10 models: YTD 2022

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Top 10 brands

While there were solid results for Toyota, Hyundai and MG, Mazda suffered particularly badly last month – with sales down nearly 40 per cent.

With 6474 units, Mazda slipped from its traditional second spot to fourth – behind Korean brands Kia and Hyundai. The Japanese marque remains a comfortable second in year-to-date sales, however.

Kia secured second place, putting it ahead of affiliate company Hyundai again to extend its year-to-date lead by more than 1000 in what is proving to be another fascinating in-house sales battle for the second consecutive year.

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Nissan remained in the top 10 despite a similarly disappointing monthly result, down 31 per cent. Ford Australia sales were down nearly 20 per cent.

MG's performance continue on an upward trajectory, reaching seventh place in May and matching its position in year-to-date sales.

Subaru returned to the top 10 at the expense of Mercedes-Benz, after missing out in April.

Notable performers elsewhere included Chevrolet (up 37 per cent on May 2021), Citroën (up 225 per cent, albeit off an extremely low base), Ferrari (up 56 per cent), Genesis (up 89 per cent), Ram (up 95 per cent), and Suzuki (up 39 per cent).

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Lamborghini sold zero vehicles in May. Tesla’s supply woes also continue, with just 12 Model 3s shifted last month.

Volvo is the stand-out luxury ‘volume’ brand with a 19 per cent increase compared to this time last year, where most other competitors are struggling. Jaguar dropped 51 per cent, Audi was down 45 per cent, Lexus sales fell by more than a third (34 per cent), and BMW sales decreased six per cent.

The Swedish brand has 4598 up to end of May, putting it on track to surpass 10,000 sales for the first time locally.

Top 10 brands: May 2022

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Top 10 brands: YTD 2022

In charts

May 2022 – Top 10 models

May – Top 10 brands

May 2022 – Overall segment sales

May 2022-2021 category sales

May 2022-2021 category YTD sales

2022 Sales race

May 2022 Australian sales map