Australia’s favourite cars revealed
Aussies bought a record number of new cars in 2024 – these are the models that won their hearts and wallets.
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Australians bought a record number of new cars in 2024, taking delivering of more than 1.2 million vehicles.
Toyota topped the charts with 241,296 deliveries, representing almost one in five sales in Australia.
Ford finished second with 100,170 sales, ahead of Mazda, Kia and Mitsubishi.
Chinese brands MG and GWM both finished inside the top 10.
Ford’s Ranger was the best-selling car with 62,593 deliveries underpinned by strong fleet sales, as well as the popularity of eye-catching models such as the Ranger Raptor.
Likewise, Toyota’s second and third-placed RAV4 SUV and HiLux Ute benefit from corporate and government demand to finish ahead of the Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi Outlander and Ford Everest.
The Toyota Corolla was the only conventional passenger car inside the top 10, finishing ahead of popular medium SUVs in the Mazda CX-5, MG ZS and Kia Sportage.
Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, said the car industry is “in really good shape”.
“Last year, Australians bought more new motor vehicles than during any other year in the industry’s history,” he said.
“The total was 1,237,287 breaking the record that was set just one year earlier.”
A significant part of Toyota’s success stemmed from orders carried into 2024 from previous years, when Hanley said Toyota “simply couldn’t get all the cars we wanted, especially hybrid cars”.
Customers who waited for up to two years for models such as the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and LandCruiser 300 Series took delivery of cars in 2024, and Hanley said the company is “still carrying over a healthy order bank”.
The rate of growth for electric vehicles slowed last year, while demand for hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars accelerated.
Even so, Australians bought more EVs in 2024 than in any other year, taking delivery of about 114,000 battery-powered vehicles.
Electric Vehicle Council spokesman Aman Gaur said EV sales “are encouraging, especially in a year when Australians were smashed by high interest rates and the high cost of living”.
“Year after year, electric vehicle sales in Australia continue to climb, proving that demand for cleaner, more affordable driving is here and it’s rising,” he said.
“This growth includes an increase in the share of BEVs sold in Australia, with pure electric vehicles still making up the majority of overall EV sales.”
The overall number of green cars grew from early 16 per cent to about 25 per cent of the market, climbing to about 197,000 sales to more than 287,000 ales of electric and hybrid vehicles.
Toyota counted its 500,000th hybrid sale in Australia last year.
RAV4 customer Valentina Grajales is one of the Toyota faithful who has made the switch to electrified motoring.
“It’s a nice ride,” she said.
“Previously I was filling up weekly and then when I got my hybrid I’d fill up every two weeks.
“They’re awesome.”
Originally published as Australia’s favourite cars revealed
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