It’s been another month of mixed sales results in Australia, with Toyota, Hyundai and Kia recording big gains as other big hitters like Ford, Isuzu and Nissan continue to have a rough time.
The market was steady overall in July, with total sales of 84,461 in July representing a 0.4 increase over July 2021.
But it wasn’t enough of a positive result for Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber, who warned of ongoing supply issues.
“Vehicle and component manufacturing operations remain affected by plant shutdowns caused by Covid-19. Logistics, including shipping, remain unpredictable. While small growth on the same month in 2021 is encouraging, we do not expect the supply of vehicles to Australia to stabilise in the near future,” he said.
Despite significant delays for a number of key models, Toyota led the market again with a 19,565 haul that was 10.9 per cent better than the previous July.
Following a record result in June for HiLux, the ute followed that up with another impressive tally of 6441 (+39.7%) to retain the top spot on the sales charts.
The RAV4 medium SUV (2437, +3.9%) increased a little to nab third place, while the Corolla hatch and sedan range (1983, -21.8%) was the only passenger vehicle model to make it into last month’s top 10 landing in sixth. The Kluger large seven-seat SUV rounded out the top 10 models list with a big haul of 1766 units, up 63.8 per cent.
The HiLux had another massive month in July.
After being relegated to fourth spot last month, Australia’s number two brand, Mazda, returned to its regular position despite a sales decline (7879, -11.7%). It was helped by a steady month for the CX-5 (2346, -1.8%) which landed in fourth place, just 91 units behind arch-rival, the RAV4.
Hyundai finally bounced back last month, recording 6792 sales and 34.2 per cent increase over July 2021 and enough to hold third place overall. Highlighting the increasing popularity of medium SUVs, the Tucson (2186, +72.8%) was one of four such models in the top 10 last month, grabbing fifth place. The i30 small car just missed out on a top 10 place by eight sales.
Sister brand Kia also had a stellar month, hitting fourth place with 6711, a 29 per cent increase. The Sportage continued its solid form, finding 1837 sales, a whopping 201.6 per cent jump over the same month last year. Although that was when the previous-generation version was in runout.
Mitsubishi recorded growth of 5.8 per cent last month for 5611 sales and fifth spot on the overall sales charts, and that was largely due to the Triton capturing 1879 sales (+18.9%) for eighth spot.
Ford was in sixth last month and its sales tally of 4439 was down by 20.3 per cent, largely on the back of supply issues for the Ranger (2934, -27.8%), which still held onto second place.
The new-gen Ranger launched in July and Ford doesn’t have access to the full range of Ranger variants just yet so it could take time for it to find its regular sales pattern.
Other Ford models, however, have finally started to fire, including the Escape medium SUV (199, +895%), Puma small SUV (335, +62.0%) and even the Mustang sports car (199, +40.1%).
MG took a rare step backwards last month, with its 3018 sales representing a decline of 8.9 per cent. That can be blamed on big drops for the ZS (1229, -31.2%) and MG3 (893, -19.8%).
Subaru finally kicked back into gear with an 18.8 per cent increase for 2822 sales. Every model line saw sales increases last month, except the XV small SUV (676, -24.5%), while the new WRX (351, +380.8%) added meaningful volume.
Isuzu took a tumble in July, dropping 19.2 per cent to 2748 units for ninth overall, as the D-Max ute slid (1930, -20.5%), but managing to hold seventh position.
Premium offering Mercedes-Benz once again kept Nissan out of the top 10, with the German brand up by 3.9 per cent to 2479, easily outpacing rivals BMW (1866, +2.9%) and Audi (1440, +5.0%).
Nissan in 11th was down by 18.7 per cent and the company’s management will be hoping the new Qashqai, X-Trail and Pathfinder SUVs will help turn things around when they eventually arrive this year.
The only state or territory to record positive sales last month was South Australia with a 13.3 per cent increase over last July. SUV sales bounced back with a 6.4 per cent bump, but passenger cars (-9.1%) and light-commercial vehicles (-4.4%) slid once again.
Most popular brands of July 2022
| Ranking | Brand | Sales | Variance% |
| 1 | Toyota | 19,565 | +10.9 |
| 2 | Mazda | 7879 | -11.7 |
| 3 | Hyundai | 6792 | +34.2 |
| 4 | Kia | 6711 | +29.0 |
| 5 | Mitsubishi | 5611 | +5.8 |
| 6 | Ford | 4439 | -20.3 |
| 7 | MG | 3018 | -8.9 |
| 8 | Subaru | 2822 | +18.8 |
| 9 | Isuzu | 2748 | -19.2 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz | 2479 | +3.9 |
Most popular models of July 2022
| Ranking | Model | Sales | Variance% |
| 1 | Toyota HiLux | 6441 | +39.7 |
| 2 | Ford Ranger | 2934 | -27.8 |
| 3 | Toyota RAV4 | 2437 | +3.9 |
| 4 | Mazda CX-5 | 2346 | -1.8% |
| 5 | Hyundai Tucson | 2186 | +72.8 |
| 6 | Toyota Corolla | 1982 | -21.8 |
| 7 | Isuzu D-Max | 1930 | -20.5 |
| 8 | Mitsubishi Triton | 1879 | +18.9 |
| 9 | Kia Sportage | 1837 | +201.6 |
| 10 | Toyota Kluger | 1766 | +63.8 |
Keyword: Winners and losers: Ford, MG and Isuzu fall as Kia, Hyundai and Toyota claw back ground in July new vehicle sales results