New cars sales in February have continued the strong run with the YTD numbers already 13% ahead of 2023 which was a record year. The highlight for fans of electric fleet cars is the doubling of hybrids and PHEVs compared to the first two months of last year.
Another interesting figure in the February VFACTS numbers is the electric and hybrid light commercial vehicle sales. It’s another green shoot as Fleet Managers continue the journey toward low and zero emissions transport.
Nissan surprised the market in February selling 4,044 more vehicles this year compared to 2023. The spike is sales put them in the top five manufacturers which hasn’t happened for a long time. The increase was across several models including X-Trail, Patrol, Navara 4X4 and Juke.
The FCAI has been critical of the proposed New Vehicle Emissions Standard and Chief Executive Tony Weber singled out the high percentage of utes being sold which would be impacted the most if the proposed standard is introduced.
“Australian motorists’ strong preference for Utes, accounting for 20.3 per cent of sales this month, demonstrates the challenges with the proposed New Vehicle Emissions Standard. Out of 21,327 utes sold in February, only one was an EV.
Battery electric vehicles accounted for 9.6 per cent of sales in February, while one in five vehicles sold was powered by low emissions technologies.
“Growing sales of electric vehicles across other market segments proves that where a battery electric product exists which suits the driving habits of Australian motorists, work and recreation needs they will purchase these vehicles,” Mr Weber said.
Toyota was the market leader with recorded sales of 19,374, followed by Mazda (7,350), Ford (7,275), Nissan (6,617) and Mitsubishi (6,411).
The top selling new vehicles in February 2024 were:
- Ford Ranger – 5,353
- Toyota HiLux – 4,403
- Tesla Model 3 – 3,593
- Isuzu Ute D-Max – 2,941
- Toyota RAV4 – 2,843
