New car sales data released by the Motor Industry Association for April 2023 shows that the Ford Ranger was the best selling vehicle for the month, while overall registrations increased by 4.3 per cent over the same month last year.
Passenger cars and SUV registrations came in at 7060 units, down by 17.1 per cent on April last year, whereas registrations of commercial vehicles experienced a stark rise by 155.5 per cent to 3117 units.
The BYD Atto 3 and Tesla Model Y were the best selling electric cars of the month while non plug-in hybrids held a strong percentage of total sales.
Aimee Wiley, Chief Executive Officer of MIA, says that the recent Government announcement that fees for high-emitting vehicles will increase from 1 July 2023, as part of the Clean Car Discount update, will heavily impact the sales of light commercial vehicles.
The Ford Ranger led the way in April this year, ahead of the Toyota Hilux in second place and the Toyota RAV4 in third, rounding out the top three models of the month.
It was Toyota that held the overall market lead for the month with 22 per cent market share (2261 units), followed by Ford with 13 per cent (1320) units and Mitsubishi with 9 per cent market share (933 units).
Approximately 1058 electric cars, 27 fully electric light commercial vehicles, and two heavy commercial vehicles were sold in April 2023. The most registered models for the month were the BYD Atto 3 (184 units), the Tesla Model Y (127 units) and the MG ZS (112 units).
A total of 565 PHEVs were sold last month, with the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross coming in as the best seller with 284 units. This was followed by the Kia Sorento (84 units) and the Ford Escape (56 units).
As for hybrids, 1783 units were sold in April 2023. This was led by the Toyota RAV4 (493 units), followed by the Toyota Highlander (157) and the Toyota Corolla (143 units).
Both the medium- and compact-sized SUV segment were the most popular, with an equal share of 22 per cent, followed by the ute and four-wheel drive segment with 15 per cent.
The small to medium segments made up 59 per cent of the market.
