VFACTS April 2025

[au2000]

April numbers are in...

Market slows and plug-in hybrids decline
5 May 2025
Australians purchased 90,614 new vehicles during April, a decrease of 6.8 per cent on the same period in 2024.

The latest VFACTS data shows a sharp decline in sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) following the removal of the fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption for these models at the end of March. During April, 2,601 plug-in hybrids were purchased, representing 2.9 per cent of sales. This is down from 4.7 per cent of sales year to date to March 2025.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said the figures highlight the impact of government policy decisions on consumer behaviour in the automotive market.

“The earlier inclusion of PHEVs in the FBT exemption played a critical role in making these vehicles accessible to more Australians. Removing that support has led to an immediate and disappointing drop in demand in a price-sensitive vehicle market,” Mr Weber said.

In April, FCAI members reported battery electric vehicle sales that made up 5.9 per cent of the market. This modest result reinforces the scale of the challenge ahead as Australia seeks to meet its emissions reduction goals under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).

“For NVES to succeed, it must be supported by holistic policy settings that assist consumers to move to zero and low-emission technologies, including continued investment in recharging infrastructure,” Mr Weber said.

Toyota was the market leader with sales of 19,380 during April, followed by Ford (7,334), Mazda (6,573), Kia (6,303) and Hyundai (5,547).  

The Toyota HiLux was Australia’s top selling vehicle with sales of 4,121 followed by the Ford Ranger (4,031), Toyota RAV4 (3,808), Ford Everest (2,234) and Toyota Prado (2,233). 

For April 2025, sales in the Australian Capital Territory were down 17 per cent on April 2024 to 1,198; New South Wales was down 7.5 per cent to 27,071; Northern Territory decreased by 2.4 per cent to 838; Queensland fell 3.2 per cent to 20,203; South Australia was down by 13.6 per cent to 5,864; Tasmania had a decrease of 18.5 per cent to 1,366; Victoria was down 7.9 per cent to 24,410 and Western Australia decreased 1.4 per cent to 9,664.

VFACTS APRIL 2025

Summary by Class:


Key Points:

The April 2025 market of 90,614 shows a decrease in new vehicle sales of 6,588 (-6.8%) compared to April 2024 (97,202). There were 23 selling days in April 2025 compared to 24 selling days in April 2024 resulting in a decrease of 110.3 vehicle sales per day in April 2025.
The Passenger Vehicle Market is down by 4,741 vehicle sales (-27.4%) over the same month last year; the Sports Utility Market is up by 44 vehicle sales (0.1%); the Light Commercial Market is down by 990 vehicle sales (-4.6%) and the Heavy Commercial Vehicle Market is down by 901 vehicle sales (-20.8%) versus April 2024.
Toyota was market leader in April, followed by Ford and Mazda. Toyota led Ford with a margin of 12,046 vehicle sales and 13.3 market share points.
SALES RESULTS:


Top 10 Models (by sales volume): State/Territory results (by sales volume):

[smoo]

Are cracks starting to appear exposing Ford of being a one trick pony in a diluted market or is there some reason to explain the low numbers?
That’s the Rangers worst monthly figure since mid 2022 when the PX3 was being phased out. Numbers have been trending down since mid last year.

[EBSXR6]

The election would account for some of the downturn in Sales.

[kevino]

Originally Posted by smoo

Are cracks starting to appear exposing Ford of being a one trick pony in a diluted market or is there some reason to explain the low numbers?
That’s the Rangers worst monthly figure since mid 2022 when the PX3 was being phased out. Numbers have been trending down since mid last year.

Lots of holidays in April -Easter and Anzac Day.
I hope you are not suggesting Ford could perhaps sell some four cylinder petrol SUV s...or an electric Puma.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by smoo

Are cracks starting to appear exposing Ford of being a one trick pony in a diluted market or is there some reason to explain the low numbers?
That’s the Rangers worst monthly figure since mid 2022 when the PX3 was being phased out. Numbers have been trending down since mid last year.

The sign will be if Ranger incentives increase to other variations...

[Rob 351]

Great result for Everest toppling the new Prado.
Yes numbers are down for Ford, but they are still number 2 which is a worry for other manufacturers besides Toyota.

[XR Martin]

The whole market is down.
Tesla down to under 600 last month.

Not sure on the other electric models.

Edit

BYD Sealion 7 – 743 sales
MG MG4 – 363 sales
BYD Atto 3 – 355 sales
Kia EV5 – 342 sales
Kia EV3 – 336 sales
BYD Seal – 325 sales
Geely EX5 – 324 sales
Tesla Model Y – 280 sales
Tesla Model 3 – 220 sales
BYD Dolphin – 216 sales
Polestar 4 – 124 sales

[XR Martin]

Expect the new federal government to further incentivise the purchase of Chinese EV in the coming years.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Rob 351

Great result for Everest toppling the new Prado.

Helped in no small part by the review car dying in a minor water crossing.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Rob 351

Great result for Everest toppling the new Prado.
Yes numbers are down for Ford, but they are still number 2 which is a worry for other manufacturers besides Toyota.

Its good to see Everest has bounced back but 1 unit is hardly toppling.
Especially when dealers were focussing on delivering 1000 300 series up from 200 last month.
When youre moving 20k units per month you often have to cut back in one segment to focus on another as you can only PD so many cars per day across the entire network.

[uranium_death]

I find Honda's demise sad
<1100 vehicles in April 2025. They had an image of producing inspired vehicles, but they seem so bland nowadays. Another company selling vehicles inspired by accountants.

Nissan increased sales by 27%, but they've languished for a while. A long while. Of all Japanese brands, probably the last I'd touch. Have JATCO improved?
No surprise that BYD is increasing. I wonder if Elon's image has affected sales here?
BYD's styling is far more appealing to the masses than Tesla, I would suggest.

The fact that the MG3 outsells Mazda 2 and Toyota Yaris in the micro car segment shows that the market is dictated by price and price alone. The Japanese brands have a proven track record with their smaller cars. The demographics of their sales would be interesting.

Within the ute segment, I would love to see the profit-per-vehicle. Toyota have relatively strong sales in the 4x2 market, but these vehicles would be more basic and I would suggest carry lower margins. Given Ford tend to sell higher-spec models more often (my observation at least), I would say the platform is delivering well for Ford.

If there was a station wagon with decent power, handling at a reasonable price, I would buy one. SUVs are underpowered, boring, and handle like turd. I don't want a ute.
I am not interested in Skoda. VW can go fudge itself.

[smoo]

Guessing 1.9% finance rate helped Nissan increase its numbers.

[EBSXR6]

Originally Posted by uranium_death

If there was a station wagon with decent power, handling at a reasonable price, I would buy one. SUVs are underpowered, boring, and handle like turd. I don't want a ute.
I am not interested in Skoda. VW can go fudge itself.

VW owns Skoda.
WRX wagon?

The the next level I can see in the Market are the BMW Wagons.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by kevino

Lots of holidays in April -Easter and Anzac Day.
I hope you are not suggesting Ford could perhaps sell some four cylinder petrol SUV s...or an electric Puma.

If they offered these models would that help them come 2029 NVES?
4 years isn’t that far away.

[uranium_death]

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

VW owns Skoda.
WRX wagon?

The the next level I can see in the Market are the BMW Wagons.

Yes, that's why I said that VW can go fudge itself.

People laugh at a Falcon, but balancing practicality, space, performance, driving pleasure and reliability, they're world class. Well, except the diff bushes, but still cheaper than replacing brakes on an Audi Q5.
Had mine since 2010, and only replaced bushes once. I'll wear that.

An Audi RS4 would be fun, but ultimately too expensive to buy and then maintain.

Impreza sportswagon lacks punch IMO. 135kw standard. Doesn't have a CVT though, which is nice.
SUVs are boring as ****. 135 and all are reported as lacking punch.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Its good to see Everest has bounced back but 1 unit is hardly toppling.
Especially when dealers were focussing on delivering 1000 300 series up from 200 last month.
When youre moving 20k units per month you often have to cut back in one segment to focus on another as you can only PD so many cars per day across the entire network.

That’s fair comment.
The -6.7% figure attached to Toyota works out to just over 1,300 vehicles
while the -15.2% attributed to Ford works out at just over 1,100 vehicles.
So when you look at the two brands, not down so much given the number
of holidays in the month…

[smoo]

Originally Posted by uranium_death

Yes, that's why I said that VW can go fudge itself.

People laugh at a Falcon, but balancing practicality, space, performance, driving pleasure and reliability, they're world class. Well, except the diff bushes, but still cheaper than replacing brakes on an Audi Q5.
Had mine since 2010, and only replaced bushes once. I'll wear that.

An Audi RS4 would be fun, but ultimately too expensive to buy and then maintain.

Impreza sportswagon lacks punch IMO. 135kw standard. Doesn't have a CVT though, which is nice.
SUVs are boring as ****. 135 and all are reported as lacking punch.

I don’t get the big deal around diff bushes.

They last longer than Chev 6.2, Hyundai 2.0 and Toyota LC300 time bomb engines.
Last longer than Ford bi turbo wet timing belt.
Last longer than most timing chains… one set of Falcon diff bushes to three 1GD Toyota timing chains.

Yeah I’ll take $200 worth of bushes and 3-4 hours to do the job over any of the above BS.

[kevino]

Originally Posted by uranium_death

Yes, that's why I said that VW can go fudge itself.

People laugh at a Falcon, but balancing practicality, space, performance, driving pleasure and reliability, they're world class. Well, except the diff bushes, but still cheaper than replacing brakes on an Audi Q5.
Had mine since 2010, and only replaced bushes once. I'll wear that.

An Audi RS4 would be fun, but ultimately too expensive to buy and then maintain.

Impreza sportswagon lacks punch IMO. 135kw standard. Doesn't have a CVT though, which is nice.
SUVs are boring as ****. 135 and all are reported as lacking punch.

Vw own Audi too just saying.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by kevino

Vw own Audi too just saying.

A little visual as to how big the company is..........................

[uranium_death]

Originally Posted by kevino

Vw own Audi too just saying.

Yeah, I know, but if I could afford an RS4, money clearly wouldn't be a concern.
As it is, Eurotrash is a no-go for me.

Oh well. I guess I might just go a Flintstones car in the end.

[jpd80]

BYD Shark 6 deliveries fell to 1293 last month, I wonder if that was a direct consequence
of losing the plug in hybrid FBT exemption. Strange that buyers went off the bite so quick…

[Sprintey]

Hands up who was alive the last time Australia had a recession, and car sales actually went backwards?

Those EV numbers look pretty small tbh

Uranium Death, have a look at WRX wagon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAXB0U3e6Gs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYdAk66qvdQ

Seems OK with the 2.4T and even the CVT.

Otherwise, for your requirements as described you could look for one of the later BFIII wagons, I've seen a couple come up at about 12K with 90,000 on the clock. Insta purchase and will save you 40K.

Not being able to find a true replacement for the Territory saw us upgrade to a newer mint Territory, and saved scores of thousands. No regrets at all.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by smoo

I don’t get the big deal around diff bushes.

They last longer than Chev 6.2, Hyundai 2.0 and Toyota LC300 time bomb engines.
Last longer than Ford bi turbo wet timing belt.
Last longer than most timing chains… one set of Falcon diff bushes to three 1GD Toyota timing chains.

Yeah I’ll take $200 worth of bushes and 3-4 hours to do the job over any of the above BS.

What goss have you got for me on the hot V LC300 motor?

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Hands up who was alive the last time Australia had a recession, and car sales actually went backwards?

Those EV numbers look pretty small tbh

Uranium Death, have a look at WRX wagon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAXB0U3e6Gs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYdAk66qvdQ

Seems OK with the 2.4T and even the CVT.

Otherwise, for your requirements as described you could look for one of the later BFIII wagons, I've seen a couple come up at about 12K with 90,000 on the clock. Insta purchase and will save you 40K.

Not being able to find a true replacement for the Territory saw us upgrade to a newer mint Territory, and saved scores of thousands. No regrets at all.

Remember going to the bank to pay-out a loan that was at 19.5%.....

[nibble]

Originally Posted by jpd80

BYD Shark 6 deliveries fell to 1293 last month, I wonder if that was a direct consequence of losing the plug in hybrid FBT exemption. Strange that buyers went off the bite so quick…

Or maybe because it can't drive up a dirt hill

[Rastas]

Originally Posted by nibble

Or maybe because it can't drive up a dirt hill

Keep joking - the real reason is they were limited to just 2000 a month originally , local management got them a few more but supply will continue to be the only reason they don't sell more per month ...... all Sharks in Aust are either sold or are Demos.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Rastas

Keep joking - the real reason is they were limited to just 2000 a month originally , local management got them a few more but supply will continue to be the only reason they don't sell more per month ...... all Sharks in Aust are either sold or are Demos.

If they are limited to 2000/month then why are they not selling 2000/month as the Easter and Anzac long weekends only really cost 3 working days.
Holding yard in Warrigal Rd Moorabbin is full.

[Rastas]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

If they are limited to 2000/month then why are they not selling 2000/month as the Easter and Anzac long weekends only really cost 3 working days.
Holding yard in Warrigal Rd Moorabbin is full.

Life is not so straight forth dear doctor - add up their total sales for this year and that will be the total number they have received so far (around 6500) - I'm guessing they don't get a monthly delivery - maybe every 6 or 7 weeks so expect some months over and others under.
The holding yard is full of sold Sharks - they are a bit understaffed to get them into delivered status.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

What goss have you got for me on the hot V LC300 motor?

Not personally. But this guy has analysed them.
One video he compares the big end shells to an old 5L out of a Hilux/Hiace. The new V6 shells are nearly half the size. POS.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by smoo

Not personally. But this guy has analysed them.
One video he compares the big end shells to an old 5L out of a Hilux/Hiace. The new V6 shells are nearly half the size. POS.

But but but, Toyota make the bestest, most reliable cars money can buy.