As usual, the start of a new year sees car sales drop compared with the last month of the year. According to the January VFACTS report for 2025, which counts new vehicle registrations from almost all car brands (except Tesla, Polestar and some newly-arrived brands), there were 86,804 sales.
That’s down 3.3 per cent on the same month in 2024, and obviously means the year-to-date figure is down 3.3 per cent. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries CEO, Tony Weber, spoke about the results, saying:
“Weakness in the market in 2024 has continued through to the January result and that current economic conditions remained a major consideration for consumers in all market segments.
“However, sales of battery electric vehicles were remarkably low and based on data from all sources, EVs accounted for just 4.4 per cent of sales, the lowest since October 2022. This is a major concern because consumers are turning away from EVs at the time the Commonwealth Government has introduced the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).”
Let’s kick off with the most popular new vehicle brands, and yep, Toyota is out of the gate first to set the standard. Sales for the Japanese brand are up 2.9 per cent compared with the same month last year. Mazda remains in second spot, and its total is up 1.9 per cent, while Ford is pushed to third with 6830 sales, up 3.1 per cent.
See below for the top 10 best-selling car brands for January 2025, including the percentage change from the same month last year in brackets:
- Toyota: 18,424 (+2.9% on January 2024)
- Mazda: 8322 (+1.9%)
- Ford: 6830 (+3.1%)
- Kia: 5720 (+0.2%)
- Mitsubishi: 5681 (-3.9%)
- Hyundai: 5478 (-11.1%)
- MG: 3740 (-6.6%)
- GWM: 3433 (+9.9%)
- Nissan: 3035 (+12.4%)
- Subaru: 2924 (-4.7%)
Moving on to the best-selling vehicles in Australia in January, and the best-seller was the Toyota RAV4. It edged ahead of last year’s overall best-seller, the Ford Ranger, by around 800 sales, and easily bettered the HiLux by over 1700 sales.
New models joined the top 10 for the first month of the year, but some may fall off during the course of the next 11 months. Mazda’s little CX-3 jumped into 10th spot, while the LandCruiser was bumped out and replaced by the CX-5, compared with December 2024.
See below for the top 10 best-selling vehicles during January 2025, including the percentage change compared with the same month last year:
- Toyota RAV4: 5076 (+125.6% on January 2024)
- Ford Ranger: 4254 (-20.9%)
- Toyota HiLux: 3302 (-39.5%)
- Toyota Prado: 2847 (+16.2%)
- Mitsubishi Outlander: 2090 (+3.8%)
- Isuzu D-Max: 2086 (-41.0%)
- Mazda CX-5: 1872 (+8.8%)
- Kia Sportage: 1826 (+13.3%)
- Ford Everest: 1679 (+97.0%)
- Mazda CX-3: 1608 (+5.5%)
Into the specific vehicle categories, starting with micro, light under $30,000, and light above $30k classes. And once again the MG3 comes home with the goods, easily outselling all contenders. Although, the fun-loving Kia Picanto got close.
Overall sales for January 2025 were as follows, with the percentage change from January last year in brackets.
Micro
- Kia Picanto: 616 (+246.1% from January 2024)
- Fiat 500/Abarth: 30 (-57.7%)
Light under $30,000
- MG MG3: 1151 (+28.5%)
- Mazda2: 524 (+23.6%)
- Suzuki Swift: 345 (-36.8%)
- Toyota Yaris: 189 (-1.6%)
Light under $30,000
- MINI hatch: 134 (-5.6%)
- Hyundai i20: 86 (+24.6%)
- Volkswagen Polo: 86 (-33.3%)
- MINI Aceman: 49 (new model)
- Skoda Fabia: 34 (+9.7%)
- Audi A1: 29 (+31.8%)
- Citroen C3: 1 (-50.0)
For the small under $40,000 class, Toyota set the pace with the Corolla, followed by the Mazda3. Hyundai’s i30 followed not far behind. The segment reported 4928 sales overall, which is down 25.2 per cent on last January.
See below for the full results for this class in January 2025, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:
- Toyota Corolla: 1583 (-16.2%)
- Mazda3: 1026 (-1.3%)
- Hyundai i30: 849 (-50.8%)
- MG MG5: 659 (+63.1%)
- Kia Cerato: 399 (-61.0%)
- Kia K4: 161 (new model)
- Subaru Impreza: 160 (-4.8%)
- BYD Dolphin: 85 (-66.8%)
- Skoda Scala: 6 (-92.7%)
In the small above $40,000 class, the best-seller was the MG4, again. It remains as one of the best-selling EVs. Volkswagen Golf and BMW 1 Series sales saw a decent spike in the first month of the year.
Total segment sales reached 1519 units, which is down 5.9 per cent. See below for the complete results for January, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:
- MG MG4: 440 (-18.1%)
- Volkswagen Golf: 293 (+44.3%)
- BMW 1 Series: 227 (+144.1%)
- Subaru WRX: 145 (-13.2%)
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class: 125 (+43.7%)
- Honda Civic: 94 (+80.8%)
- Audi A3: 52 (-73.7%)
- Cupra Born: 50 (+2.0%)
- GWM Ora: 37 (-58.0%)
- Cupra Leon: 28 (+21.7%)
- Nissan Leaf: 12 (-14.3%)
- Peugeot 308: 9 (+12.5%)
- BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe: 7 (-88.1%)
- Renault Megane: 0 (-100%)
- MINI Clubman: 0 (-100%)
- Mercedes-Benz B-Class: 0 (-100%)
Into the medium below $60,000 segment, and sales dropped 62.4 per cent to 782 units overall. The leader was the Toyota Camry once again, with the Mazda6 experiencing a little spike perhaps following news of it being deleted from the lineup piquing buyers’ interest.
See below for the full class results, with the percentage change compared with January 2024 in brackets:
- Toyota Camry: 488 (-59.1%)
- Mazda6: 136 (-5.6%)
- Skoda Octavia: 57 (-45.2%)
- BYD Seal: 52 (-91.2)
- Hyundai Sonata: 25 (0.0%)
- Honda Accord: 21 (+162.5%)
- Volkswagen Passat: 3 (-81.3%)
Up one level, the medium above $60,000 segment dropped 71 per cent compared with last January, with 488 sales in total for the month. The best-seller was the BMW i4, closely followed by the Mercedes C-Class.
See below for the full results in this class in January 2025, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:
- BMW i4: 108 (+16.1%)
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 103 (-24.3%)
- BMW 3 Series: 82 (-60.6%)
- Lexus ES: 54 (-44.9%)
- Mercedes-Benz CLA: 42 (-44.0%)
- Volvo V60 Cross Country: 19 (+11.8%)
- Alfa Romeo Giulia: 18 (-41.9%)
- Volvo S60: 17 (-26.1%)
- Hyundai IONIQ 6: 14 (-66.7%)
- Audi A4: 11 (-38.9%)
- Genesis G70: 8 (+100.0%)
- BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe: 6 (-53.8%)
- Audi A5 Sportback: 4 (-84.6%)
- Peugeot 508: 2 (-33.3%)
- Jaguar XE: 0 (-100%)
- Volkswagen Arteon: 0 (-100%)
Moving over to the large below $70,000 segment, with just two models making up the class and soon to be one now that Citroen has departed Australia. Overall sales are down 55 per cent. See below for the full results for January 2025, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:
- Skoda Superb: 9 (-50.0%)
- Citroen C5 X: 0 (-100%)
Large above $70,000 class sales topped 146 in January, which is down 5.2 per cent. Its best-seller was the BMW 5 Series once again, followed by its arch rival, the Mercedes E-Class. See below for the complete results for this segment, with the percentage change compared with January last year in brackets:
- BMW 5 Series: 64 (+23.1%)
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class: 28 (+154.5%)
- Porsche Taycan: 14 (-65.0%)
- Audi A6: 13 (+8.3%)
- Mercedes-Benz EQE: 9 (+28.6%)
- Audi e-tron GT: 7 (-30.0%)
- Genesis G80: 6 (-53.8%)
- Audi A7: 4 (-20%)
- Maserati Ghibli: 1 (-50.0%)
- Jaguar XF: 0 (-100%)
- Toyota Mirai: 0 (-100%)
Finishing of the traditional passenger cars, the upper large above $100,000 class reported 30 sales overall, which is up an impressive 172.7 per cent. The result was primarily driven by the Mercedes S-Class. Sales for the iconic limo jumped 400 per cent, with 10 units sold.
See below for the full results for this class in January 2025, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class: 10 (+400%)
- Porsche Panamera: 6 (+100%)
- BMW 7 Series: 5 (0.0%)
- BMW i7: 3 (0.0%)
- BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe: 2 (0.0%)
- Rolls-Royce Sedan: 2 (0.0%)
- Audi A8: 1 (0.0%)
- Bentley sedan: 1 (0.0%)
- Mercedes-AMG GT 4D: 0 (-100%)
- Lotus Emeya: 0 (new model)
- Mercedes-Benz EQS: 0 (-100%)
- BMW 6 Series GT: 0 (0.0%)
- Maserati Quattroporte: 0 (0.0)
Jumping into the exciting sports cars. The entry sports below $80,000 class reported 472 sales overall for the month, up 55.8 per cent on last January. The best-seller was the mighty Ford Mustang with 266 sales, up over 1000 per cent (keeping in mind the new model had not arrived by this time last year).
See below for the full results for January, with the percentage change compared with the same month in 2024 in brackets:
- Ford Mustang: 266 (+999%)
- Subaru BRZ: 73 (-24.0%)
- Toyota GR86: 68 (-23.6%)
- Mazda MX-5: 41 (-16.3%)
- Nissan Z: 24 (-31.4%)
- MINI Cabrio: 0 (-100%)
The sports above $80,000 segment reported 233 sales overall, down 22.8 per cent on the same month last year. Its best-seller was the Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class, with the BMW 2 and 4 Series crossing the line in equal second.
See below for the full segment results, with the percentage change compared with January 2024 in brackets:
- Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class: 47 (+999%)
- BMW 2 Series coupe/convertible: 45 (-67.9%)
- BMW 4 Series Coupe/Conv: 45 (-19.6%)
- Chevrolet Corvette Stingray: 31 (+63.2%)
- Porsche Cayman: 18 (+50.0%)
- Porsche Boxster: 17 (+142.9%)
- MG Cyberster: 8 (new model)
- BMW Z4: 7 (+133.3%)
- Toyota GR Supra: 5 (-61.5%)
- Audi A5: 4 (-33.3%)
- Lotus Emira: 4 (-55.6%)
- Jaguar F-Type: 1 (-83.3%)
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe/convertible: 1 (-66.7%)
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe/convertible: 0 (-100%)
- Audi TT: 0 (-100.0%)
Rounding out the sports cars, the sports above $200,000 class reported 70 sales in total, down 30 per cent. As no surprise, the best-seller was once again the Porsche 911. Lamborghini experienced a generous spike, as did Chevrolet with the Corvette Z06.
See below for the full lineup results for the month, with the percentage change compared with January last year in brackets:
- Porsche 911: 22 (-51.1%)
- Lamborghini coupe/convertible: 14 (+133.3%)
- Mercedes-AMG GT coupe/convertible: 10 (new model)
- Chevrolet Corvette Z06: 5 (+66.7%)
- Aston Martin coupe/convertible: 4 (0.0%)
- Lexus LC: 4 (-20.0%)
- BMW 8 Series: 2 (-33.3%)
- Ferrari coupe/convertible: 2 (-81.8%)
- McLaren coupe/convertible: 2 (-33.3%)
- Rolls-Royce coupe/convertible: 2 (-33.3%)
- Bentley coupe/convertible: 1 (-88.9%)
- Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray: 1 (new model)
- Mercedes-Benz SL-Class: 1 (-83.3%)
- Maserati coupe/convertible: 0 (-100%)
Into the popular SUV classes, and yet again it was the SUV Medium below $60,000 segment that reported the most sales, with 17,569 units (up 18.4 per cent). The SUV Small below $45,000 segment was the second favourite, with 11,861 sales (up 6.5 per cent), followed by the SUV Large below $70,000 class with 10,258 sales (down 1.3 per cent).
It seems VFACTS has shuffled around some models, so if you see nameplates in different segments than usual, that’s why. For example, the VW T-Roc and Toyota C-HR have been bumped up a class.
See below for the complete results for each SUV category for January 2025, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:
Best-selling SUVs – Light
- Mazda CX-3: 1608 (+5.5%)
- Toyota Yaris Cross: 849 (+14.4%)
- Suzuki Jimny: 712 (+19.3%)
- Hyundai Venue: 617 (+13.0%)
- Kia Stonic: 535 (+1.3%)
- Volkswagen T-Cross: 161 (+17.5%)
- Suzuki Ignis: 83 (-51.2%)
- Nissan Juke: 68 (-62.4%)
- Jeep Avenger: 6 (new model)
- Renault Captur: 5 (-86.1%)
- Ford Puma: 0 (0.0%)
Best-selling SUVs – Small below $45,000
- Mitsubishi ASX: 1304 (+38.0%)
- Hyundai Kona: 1301 (-4.9%)
- GWM Haval Jolion: 1286 (+21.9%)
- MG ZS: 1212 (-35.8%)
- Mazda CX-30: 1085 (+4.3%)
- Chery Tiggo 4 Pro: 1018 (new model)
- Toyota Corolla Cross: 922 (+19.0%)
- Subaru Crosstrek: 912 (+12.6%)
- Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross: 625 (-29.1%)
- Kia Seltos: 539 (-20.0%)
- Chery Omoda 5: 468 (-9.1%)
- Nissan Qashqai: 424 (-13.6%)
- Honda HR-V: 321 (+33.2%)
- Suzuki Vitara: 218 (+31.3%)
- Skoda Kamiq: 88 (+14.3%)
- Suzuki S-Cross: 73 (+52.1%)
- Renault Arkana: 45 (-18.2%)
- Jeep Compass: 18 (-78.8%)
- Mazda MX-30: 2 (-92.6%)
Best-selling SUVs – Small above $45,000
- Volkswagen T-Roc: 497 (+6.2%)
- Audi Q3: 279 (-21.4%)
- Volvo XC40: 237 (-30.5%)
- Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class: 236 (+181%)
- BMW X1: 186 (-34.7%)
- MINI Countryman: 166 (+999%)
- BMW X2: 145 (+999%)
- Lexus LBX: 118 (new model)
- Lexus UX: 113 (+5.6%)
- Toyota C-HR: 106 (+999%)
- Volvo EX30: 103 (new model)
- Cupra Formentor: 97 (+40.6%)
- Kia Niro: 91 (-5.2%)
- Mercedes-Benz EQA: 73 (+17.7%)
- Audi Q2: 56 (-11.1%)
- Volvo C40: 38 (-35.6%)
- Renault Megane E-Tech: 24 (+999%)
- Peugeot 2008: 17 (-32.0%)
- Jaguar E-Pace: 15 (+15.4%)
- Cupra Ateca: 12 (+100%)
- Alfa Romeo Tonale: 8 (-81.0%)
- Genesis GV60: 2 (-83.3%)
Best-selling SUVs – Medium below $60,000
- Toyota RAV4: 5076 (+129.6%)
- Mitsubishi Outlander: 2090 (+0.6%)
- Mazda CX-5: 1872 (+8.8%)
- Kia Sportage: 1826 (+9.7%)
- Hyundai Tucson: 1433 (-4.8%)
- Nissan X-Trail: 1122 (+20.8%)
- Subaru Forester: 961 (-9.4%)
- GWM Haval H6: 727 (+6.8%)
- Honda CR-V: 490 (-15.1%)
- BYD Sealion 6: 433 (new model)
- Honda ZR-V: 334 (-28.6%)
- MG HS: 270 (-3.9%)
- GWM Haval H6 GT: 232 (+1.8%)
- Volkswagen Tiguan: 171 (-58.4%)
- Chery Tiggo 7 Pro: 148 (-30.8)
- Renault Koleos: 134 (+10.7%)
- BYD Atto 3: 105 (-77.4%)
- Skoda Karoq: 64 (-14.7%)
- SsangYong Torres: 35 (new model)
- Leapmotor C10: 22 (new model)
- SsangYong Korando: 22 (-60.7%)
- Ford Escape: 2 (-97.7%)
- Citroen C5 Aircross: 0 (-100%)
Best-selling SUVs – Medium above $60,000
- Mazda CX-60: 408 (+40.7%)
- Lexus NX: 387 (-3.0%)
- Audi Q5: 302 (+53.3%)
- Kia EV5: 289 (new model)
- Porsche Macan: 278 (-0.4%)
- Mercedes-Benz GLC: 246 (+42.2%)
- BMW X3: 163 (-25.6%)
- Audi Q4 e-tron: 121 (new model)
- Hyundai IONIQ 5: 109 (+127.1%)
- Mercedes-Benz GLC coupe: 108 (+21.3%)
- Mercedes-Benz EQB: 95 (+295.8%)
- Mercedes-Benz GLB: 84 (+58.5%)
- Volvo XC60: 82 (-44.2%)
- Toyota bZ4x: 80 (new model)
- Genesis GV70: 58 (-17.1%)
- Range Rover Evoque: 49 (-21.0%)
- Land Rover Discovery Sport: 40 (+100%)
- Maserati Gracale: 21 (+31.3%)
- BMW X4: 20 (-54.5%)
- Skoda Enyaq: 17 (new model)
- Subaru Solterra: 16 (+45.5%)
- Peugeot 408: 11 (-42.1%)
- Peugeot 3008: 10 (-60.0%)
- Volkswagen ID.4: 9 (new model)
- Alfa Romeo Stelvio: 8 (-61.9%)
- Volkswagen ID.5: 7 (new model)
- Audi Q6 e-tron: 3 (new model)
- Peugeot 5008: 1 (-50.0%)
- Mercedes-Benz EQC: 0 (-100%)
Best-selling SUVs – Large below $70,000
- Toyota Prado: 2847 (+63.1%)
- Ford Everest: 1679 (+42.8%)
- Isuzu MU-X: 786 (-35.4%)
- Subaru Outback: 657 (-13.0%)
- Kia Sorento: 601 (-7.1%)
- Hyundai Santa Fe: 562 (+90.5%)
- Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace: 446 (+21.5%)
- Mitsubishi Pajero Sport: 439 (-29.6%)
- Toyota Kluger: 414 (-67.0%)
- Mazda CX-80: 361 (new model)
- Toyota Fortuner: 311 (-10.1%)
- GWM Tank 300: 243 (-38.2%)
- Chery Tiggo 8 Pro: 203 (new model)
- LDV D90: 197 (-25.7%)
- Hyundai Palisade: 177 (-23.0%)
- SsangYong Rexton: 111 (-34.7%)
- GWM Tank 500: 100 (new model)
- Skoda Kodiaq: 54 (-44.9%)
- Jeep Wrangler: 51 (-23.9%)
- Nissan Pathfinder: 14 (-78.5%)
- Mazda CX-8: 2 (-99.6%)
- Volkswagen Passat Alltrack: 2 (-80%)
- Mazda CX-9: 1 (-99.1%)
- Dodge Journey: 0 (0.0%)
Best-selling SUVs – Large above $70,000
- Land Rover Defender: 164 (+5.1%)
- BMW X5: 147 (-20.1%)
- Lexus RX: 116 (-26.6%)
- Audi Q7: 96 (+182.4%)
- Range Rover Sport: 83 (-53.9%)
- Mercedes-Benz GLE: 74 (-39.8%)
- Porsche Cayenne Coupe: 71 (+39.2%)
- Volkswagen Touareg: 71 (+77.5%)
- Volvo XC90: 58 (+1.8%)
- Mazda CX-90: 53 (-38.4%)
- Kia EV6: 52 (-73.9%)
- Porsche Cayenne: 42 (-28.8%)
- BMW X6: 41 (0.0%)
- Jeep Grand Cherokee: 37 (-47.9%)
- Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV: 37 (-33.9%)
- Ford Mustang Mach-E: 29 (-50.8%)
- Mercedes-Benz GLE coupe: 26 (-10.3%)
- BMW iX: 25 (+4.2%)
- Range Rover Velar: 25 (-28.6%)
- Audi Q8: 24 (-35.1%)
- Jaguar F-Pace: 24 (-38.5%)
- Mazda CX-70: 24 (new model)
- Genesis GV80: 19(-38.7%)
- Genesis GV80 Coupe: 12 (new model)
- Audi Q8 e-tron: 8 (-46.7%)
- Lexus RZ: 7 (-61.1%)
- Volvo EX90: 6 (new model)
- Maserati Levante: 2 (-50.0%)
- Jaguar I-Pace: 0 (-100%)
Best-selling SUVs – Upper large below $120,000
- Nissan Patrol: 621 (+22.0%)
- Toyota LandCruiser: 413 (-71.8%)
- Land Rover Discovery: 23 (-45.2%)
- Kia EV9: 22 (-53.2%)
Best-selling SUVs – Upper large above $120,000
- Lexus GX: 95 (new vehicle)
- BMW X7: 66 (-8.3%)
- Lexus LX: 49 (-12.5%)
- Mercedes-Benz GLS: 33 (+32.0%)
- Mercedes-Benz G-Class: 32 (+3.2%)
- Range Rover: 21 (-22.2%)
- Lamborghini Urus: 11 (+266.7%)
- BMW XM: 5 (0.0%)
- Aston Martin DBX: 3 (-25.0%)
- Bentley Bentayga: 3 (-66.7%)
- Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV: 2 (-80.0%)
- Ferrari Purosangue: 1 (-66.7%)
- Lotus Eletre: 1 (new model)
- Rolls-Royce Cullinan: 1 (0.0%)
And lastly, the utes and American pickup trucks. See below for the top 15 best-selling utes in Australia for January 2025, according to VFACTS, including 4×2 and 4×4 and the large above $100,000 segments combined:
- Ford Ranger: 4254
- Toyota HiLux: 3302
- Isuzu D-Max: 2086
- Mitsubishi Triton: 1223
- Mazda BT-50: 1179
- Nissan Navara: 750
- Toyota LandCruiser 70: 730
- GWM Ute: 635
- LDV T60/T60 EV: 538
- Volkswagen Amarok: 428
- Ford F-150: 230
- RAM 1500: 212
- JAC T9: 204
- GWM Alpha: 173
- Chevrolet Silverado: 171