New car market boom continues

Hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles have more than doubled their share of the new vehicle market in the space of a year as consumers shift towards more sustainable and efficient vehicles, according to the latest figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

They captured 18.3% of the market in April, compared with 7.5% in the previous year.

Battery electric vehicles saw a slight decrease in sales, however, accounting for 6.4% of new sales, a decrease from 7.9% at the same time last year.

The Toyota RAV4 was Australia's top-selling vehicle in April with sales of 5,857 and Toyota confirming hybrids accounted for 94% or 5,504 of those sales.

The Japanese giant and overall market leader said more than half of its total sales in April were hybrids - 10,972 vehicles representing 52.8% of its 20,771 sales - with Toyota dealers retailing the highest number of Hybrid Electric models for any month since the company introduced the first Prius in October 2001.

The strong sales of fuel-efficient vehicles are just one aspect of a booming automotive market which last month set a new April sales record of 97,202 vehicles.

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It represents the 10th month of record-breaking sales in the past year, propelling year-to-date sales to 401,654, the highest on record and an increase of more than 50,515 vehicles compared with the same year-to-date point in 2023.

The SUV category continues to dominate, representing 55.7% of total market share in April, with light commercials holding steady at 22.0% of sales, and passenger vehicles accounting for 17.8% of sales.

Toyota was the market leader with sales of 20,771, followed by Ford (8,648), Mazda (7,301), Kia (6,653) and Mitsubishi (5,314).

The Toyota RAV4 was Australia's top-selling vehicle with sales of 5,857, followed by the Ford Ranger (5,569), Toyota HiLux (4,693), Ford Everest (2,400) and Isuzu Ute D-Max (2,380).

Sales across every state and territory increased compared with April 2023, with Queenslander's purchasing 20,872 new vehicles in April, behind New South Wales (29,263) and Victoria (26,492).

Toyota's Vice-President Sales, Marketing & Franchise Operations Sean Hanley said the company was focused on reducing customer wait times on all its vehicles but especially its popular hybrid variants.

"We remain focused on meeting this demand. Based on our delivery plan, average wait times for Hybrid Electric variants of RAV4, Corolla hatch and C-HR will be back to normal by the end of next month - just three to four months, if not even better." Mr Hanley said.

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