2020 new-car sales: Toyota and HiLux dominate again in February as Holden falls to 15th in brand race

New-vehicle sales were down for the 23rd consecutive month in February, with VFACTS data released today revealing an 8.2 per cent decrease month-on-month.

In total, 79,940 new vehicles were sold last month, of which 49.2 per cent were SUVs (39,304), 28.3 per cent were passenger cars (22,648) and 19.4 per cent were light-commercial vehicles (15,523).

“In economic terms, a recession is declared after two quarters of negative growth – and this industry has now seen seven consecutive quarters of negative growth,” said Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber.

“There is no doubt that this is an extraordinarily difficult time for the automotive industry – a situation sadly underlined by the recent announcement of Holden’s withdrawal from the Australian market.”

Toyota was the best-selling brand yet again, with 17,679 sales (+0.5% month-on-month), ahead of Mazda (7230, -25.6%), Hyundai (5945, -9.9%), Mitsubishi (5513, -30.0%) and Kia (5120, +3.3%).

Ford (4856 sales, -10.6%), Nissan (3804, -6.2%), Volkswagen (3633, -10.5%), Honda (3522, -12.0%) and Mercedes-Benz Cars (2673, -2.5%) rounded out the top-10 brands.

Holden (1367 sales, -49.8% month-on-month) was a distant outsider in 15th place, falling behind Subaru (2603, -11.3%), BMW (2019, +1.1%), Isuzu Ute (1559, -16.0%) and Suzuki (1423, -12.2%).

The Toyota HiLux ute (3421 sales, -22.8% month-on-month) was the best-selling model once more, edging the Toyota RAV4 mid-size SUV (3375, +105.9%), Ford Ranger ute (3202, -5.2%), Toyota Corolla small car (2520, +21.7%) and Hyundai i30 small car (2152, +11.6%).

Rounding out the top-10 models were the Mazda CX-5 mid-size SUV (1969 sales, -16.5% month-on-month), Kia Cerato small car (1873, +20.6%), Mitsubishi Triton ute (1673, -47.0%), Toyota Camry mid-size sedan (1445, +11.3%) and Nissan X-Trail mid-size SUV (1439, +1.3%).

For the first time in recent memory, the Mazda3 small car (1435 sales, -49.6%) was on the outside looking in, albeit in 11th position, after a tough February. Once upon a time, it was the best-selling model on an annual basis.

The most popular brands of February 2020

The best-selling models of February 2020