VFACTS October 2022: Ford Ranger tops charts, Toyota HiLux sets annual record, two Chinese brands in Top 10
Demand for new cars remained in positive territory last month, but there were some big upsets among the Top 10 sellers. Here is the list of the latest winners and losers.
The new-generation Ford Ranger ute topped the sales charts last month after shipments finally arrived in bulk – but the Toyota HiLux continues to lead the market year-to-date and, incredibly, it set a new annual record with two months of the year to spare.
The Toyota HiLux year-to-date tally to the end of October 2022 of 54,680 sales is 3.6 per cent higher than the 52,801 examples reported as sold for the entire 2021 calendar year.
The result was enough to elevate Ford to second spot on the podium for the month – behind market leader Toyota – for the first time in more than two decades, since September 1999.
New-car sales figures released today showed demand for motor vehicles remains in positive territory despite seven interest rate rises in a row, assembly line slowdowns, and shipping bottlenecks.
October 2022 was the fourth month in a row of year-on-year growth after three consecutive months in decline.
Official data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries released today shows 87,299 new motor vehicles were reported as sold in October 2022 (up 16.9 per cent compared to the same month last year).
However year-to-date growth remains relatively flat: the tally for the first 10 months of the year of 898,429 is only up by 0.9 per cent compared to the same period last year.
While October’s reported sales results showed promise, the monthly total was 8.8 per cent lower than the record October result set in 2017 – and 4.4 per cent down on the five-year average prior to the pandemic.
There were several upsets inside the Top 10 largely based on which brands could source vehicles and deliver them to customers.
As has been the case throughout the pandemic, the majority of new cars reported as sold in October 2022 were ordered months earlier – or even as far back as last year.
Market leader Toyota continued its dominance – accounting for one in five new cars sold – but there was a huge scrap for the minor placings.
Ford managed to overtake Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and Mazda to score second place in the monthly sales race for the first time in 23 years.
Ford Australia’s previous best monthly ranking was third outright in June and July 2021. Before that, Ford had not ranked inside the Top Three outright in the monthly sales charts since October 2012.
The October 2022 second-place result is Ford’s highest monthly ranking since September 1999, after maintaining third place in the annual sales charts for 14 years until 2011.
The last time Ford led the Australian new-car market was in 1997 (at the time, its third year in a row at the top).
In the battle among South Korean siblings, Kia increased its year-to-date lead over Hyundai and remains on track to top its in-house rival for the first time in the annual new-car sales race in Australia.
Mitsubishi – which had been tracking in third place year-to-date for most of 2022 – slipped to fourth after becoming collateral damage in the battle between Hyundai and Kia.
And, for the first time in Australian automotive history, two Chinese brands made it into the monthly Top 10 sellers list.
MG ranked seventh last month – for the eighth time this year – and has never been outside the Top 10 so far in 2022.
Now fellow Chinese brand Great Wall Motors Haval is gaining ground, securing 10th place for the first time in the monthly sales race.
While electric-car specialist Tesla shocked the industry with a seventh-place result in September, it slipped to 19th place in October, demonstrating that its sales results are a reflection on shipment arrivals.
Data below supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, and compiled by Alex Misoyannis and Joshua Dowling.
TOP 10 CARS IN October 2022
| Rank | Model | Volume October 2022 | Change year-on-year |
| 1 | Ford Ranger | 5628 | up 36.1 per cent |
| 2 | Toyota HiLux | 4884 | up 23.3 per cent |
| 3 | Toyota RAV4 | 3222 | up 92.9 per cent |
| 4 | Mazda CX-5 | 2352 | up 237 per cent |
| 5 | MG ZS | 2292 | up 104 per cent |
| 6 | Isuzu D-Max | 1951 | up 15.2 per cent |
| 7 | Kia Sportage | 1877 | up 405 per cent |
| 8 | MG 3 | 1823 | up 43.7 per cent |
| 9 | Mitsubishi ASX | 1734 | up 18.4 per cent |
| 10 | Mitsubishi Triton | 1679 | up 182 per cent |
TOP 10 CAR BRANDS IN October 2022
| Rank | Brand | Volume October 2022 | Change year-on-year |
| 1 | Toyota | 18,259 | up 18.6 per cent |
| 2 | Ford | 7823 | up 43.2 per cent |
| 3 | Kia | 6380 | up 31.5 per cent |
| 4 | Mitsubishi | 5982 | up 42.3 per cent |
| 5 | Mazda | 5775 | up 11.5 per cent |
| 6 | Hyundai | 5289 | down 13.5 per cent |
| 7 | MG | 5031 | up 60.4 per cent |
| 8 | Volkswagen | 3199 | up 9.9 per cent |
| 9 | Isuzu | 2865 | up 21.1 per cent |
| 10 | GWM Haval | 2462 | up 45.5 per cent |
Passenger cars: Top Three in each segment in October 2022
| Micro | Kia Picanto (424) | Fiat/Abarth 500 (11) | Mitsubishi Mirage (1) |
| Light < $25k | MG 3 (1823) | Toyota Yaris (348) | Suzuki Swift (294) |
| Light > $25k | Mini Hatch (70) | Audi A1 (33) | Citroen C3 (1) |
| Small < $40k | Hyundai i30 (1441) | Toyota Corolla (904) | Kia Cerato (788) |
| Small > $40k | Mercedes-Benz A-Class (204) | Audi A3 (183) | BMW 1 Series (153) |
| Medium < $60k | Toyota Camry (601) | Mazda 6 (104) | Hyundai Sonata (61) |
| Medium > $60k | Mercedes-Benz C-Class (287) | Polestar 2 (246) | BMW 3 Series (192) |
| Large < $70k | Kia Stinger (112) | Citroen C5 X (34) | Skoda Superb (29) |
| Large > $70k | BMW 5 Series (37) | Mercedes-Benz E-Class (29) | Audi A6 (21) |
| Upper Large < $100k | Chrysler 300 (0) | ||
| Upper Large > $100k | Mercedes-Benz S-Class (8) | BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe (6) | Mercedes-Benz EQS (5) |
| People Movers | Kia Carnival (757) | Hyundai Staria (68) | Volkswagen Multivan (60) |
| Sports < $80k | Ford Mustang (135) | Subaru BRZ (116) | BMW 2 Series Coupe (50) |
| Sports > $80k | BMW 4 Series coupe/convertible (135) | Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe/convertible (35) | Chevrolet Corvette (12) |
| Sports > $200k | Porsche 911 (53) | Ferrari sports cars (31) | Lamborghini sports cars (21) |
SUVs: Top Three in each segment in October 2022
| Light SUV | Toyota Yaris Cross (1019) | Mazda CX-3 (852) | Suzuki Jimny (567) |
| Small SUV < $40k | MG ZS (2293) | Mitsubishi ASX (1734) | Toyota Corolla Cross (1025) |
| Small SUV > $40k | Audi Q3 (625) | Volvo XC40 (373) | Mercedes-Benz GLA (168) |
| Medium SUV < $60k | Toyota RAV4 (3222) | Mazda CX-5 (2352) | Kia Sportage (1877) |
| Medium SUV > $60k | Tesla Model Y (1076) | BMW X3 (447) | Porsche Macan (368) |
| Large SUV < $70k | Toyota Prado (1461) | Ford Everest (1271) | Isuzu MU-X (914) |
| Large SUV > $70k | Mercedes-Benz GLE (319) | Land Rover Defender (297) | BMW X5 (247) |
| Upper Large SUV < $100k | Toyota LandCruiser wagon (1217) | Nissan Patrol wagon (230) | |
| Upper Large SUV > $100k | Mercedes-Benz GLS (62) | Audi Q8 (31) | Range Rover (25) |
Utes and vans: Top Three in each segment in October 2022
| Vans < 2.5t | Volkswagen Caddy (31) | Peugeot Partner (29) | Renault Kangoo (6) |
| Vans 2.5t-3.5t | Toyota HiAce van (781) | LDV G10 (239) | Ford Transit Custom (215) |
| 4×2 Utes | Toyota HiLux (1392) | Ford Ranger (481) | Mitsubishi Triton (233) |
| 4×4 Utes | Ford Ranger (5147) | Toyota HiLux (3492) | Isuzu D-Max (1834) |
The post VFACTS October 2022: Ford Ranger tops charts, Toyota HiLux sets annual record, two Chinese brands in Top 10 appeared first on Drive.