Make no mistake, the EVs are here to stay as Ford Ranger marks first blood against Toyota HiLux in the 2023 sales race
Even though it’s easy to argue against the scoring methodology, the bare fact that Tesla’s Model 3 is the third-best-selling car of January 2023 says one thing loud and clear… like it or not, EVs are here to stay.
Tesla’s tendency towards offering VFACTS data that roughly reflect its stock drops, as opposed to an accurate month-to-month sales representation, does add conjecture to the result.
Still, the scoreboard doesn’t lie… the Model 3 is, so far, the third-best-selling car in Australia.
It’s the best-ever result for an electric vehicle on the VFACTS charts.
The usual protagonists are back at it for the new year, with Ford’s Ranger claiming the first battle of 2023 over the Toyota HiLux.
But in a clear third spot sits the electric mid-sized sedan that outsold every traditionally-powered SUV on sale in Australia last month.
In fact, sales of battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 12.28 per cent of the total market for the month, (10,426) with battery-electric vehicles representing 5.7 per cent (4,852) of that figure.
In raw numbers, the Ford Ranger notched up 4,749 sales, with Toyota’ HiLux tallying 4,131. The Model 3’s 2,927 sales bested Mazda’s CX-3 (2,417) and CX-5 (2,189) SUVs.
A total of 84,873 vehicles were sold during the first month of 2023, which represents a 11.9 per cent increase on the same period in 2022 – a clear sign that supply issues are marginally improving as the industry rolls into a year where new car stocks are expected to be easier to come by.
“This data is the best January result since 2018 and shows that the industry is continuing to recover following years of supply chain disruption and delay,” FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said in a statement.
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Looking at company-wide sales, Toyota moved 13,363 vehicles. Mazda was an impressive second with 9,407, followed by the Ranger-centric Ford brand (6,624), Kia (6,006) and an improving but still supply-crushed Hyundai (5,809).
Toyota’s sales were down 12.8 per cent compared to the corresponding month last year and, notably, its market share was reduced to 15.7 per cent – well down on the 20-plus-per-cent stranglehold the world’s best-selling brand usually enjoys.
Sales across all States and Territories were up, according to VFACTS data. The ACT increased by 18.6 per cent with 1,394 vehicles sold; New South Wales, 15 per cent (26,484); Queensland, 14.3 per cent (18,766); South Australia, 11.9 per cent (5,786); the NT, 7.8 per cent (665); Victoria, 9.7 per cent (22,367); Western Australia 4.3 per cent (7,901) and Tasmania, 2.9 per cent (1,510).
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