VFACTS: New Car Sales Insights May 2023

Read our monthly update on VFACTS new car sales results.



New Car Sales

  • May 2023 saw a total figure of 105,694 new car sales for Australia as reported by VFACTS.
  • Figures show new car sales were up +12% in May 2023 versus May 2022.
  • Sales between states were largely up with WA seeing a 11% increase compared to May 2022.
  • Electric vehicle sales continue to skyrocket in May 2023, seeing a cumulative increase of 275% so far this year compared to last – although much of this is down to newly introduced sales of Tesla vehicles.
  • Hybrid vehicles (-16%) and Diesel vehicles (-8%) sales decreased in May 2023.






New Car Sales Trends

The top 5 models with the greatest increases so far in 2023 are:

  • Tesla Model Y (+8,442 units)
  • Tesla Model 3 (+5,636 units)
  • BYD Atto 3 (+4,664 units)
  • Hyundai Tucson (+3,567 units)
  • Ford Ranger 4X4 (+2,987 units)

The bottom 5 models with the greatest decreases so far in 2023 are:

  • Mitsubishi Triton 4X4 (-7,924 units)
  • Toyota RAV4 (-7,122 units)
  • Toyota Prado (-5,983 units)
  • Toyota Corolla (-5,046 units)
  • Kia Cerato (-3,662 units)

The top segment increases so far in 2023 compared to 2022 are:

  • Small > $40K (+143%)
  • Sports <$80K (+84%)
  • Medium > $60K (+71%)
  • SUV Medium > $60K (+65%)
  • Light Buses => 20 Seats (+62%)

Conversely, some of the largest decreases are:

  • Upper Large < $100K (-100%)
  • Vans/CC <= 2.5t (-53%)
  • Small <$40K (-34%)
  • Light Buses < 20 Seats (-32%)
  • Medium < $60K (-26%)

Please note that VFACTS has made some changes to the price groupings as shown in the table below:


VFACTS Grouping 2023VFACTS Grouping 2022
Light < $30KLight < $25K
Light > $30KLight > $25K
People Movers < $70KPeople Movers < $60K
People Movers > $70KPeople Movers > $60K
SUV Small < $45KSUV Small < $40K
SUV Small > $45KSUV Small > $40K
SUV Upper Large < $120KSUV Upper Large < $100K
SUV Upper Large > $120KSUV Upper Large > $100K





Sales by Import Country

  • Sales of imported vehicles from China continue to skyrocket with an increase of 31,966 units compared to 2022
  • Sales of imported vehicles from Germany have made a strong showing in May 2023 with an increase of 4,785 units compared to 2022
  • Sales of imported vehicles from Japan seeing the largest decrease of 21,896 units compared to 2022
  • Sales of imported European vehicles continue to see declines



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Tanim Ahmed

By Tanim Ahmed, Head of Product at Datium Insights

Tanim is a Macquarie University alumni with degrees in Finance and Economics. He has spent a decade in the Leasing and Finance industry, specializing in Residual Value risk.

Please contact Datium Insights for further analytical support and advisory services.

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