Record new car sales in Australia for April 2024

Australian new car sales are booming, with motorists snapping up record numbers of vehicles in the last month.

Australian car sales are in the fast lane, with the industry recording record figures for the month of April, and the first four months of a year.

Toyota’s RAV4 was the best-selling vehicle for April, overtaking the Ford Ranger that looks on track to retain its place as Australia’s favourite car.

It was the best-ever monthly sales result for the RAV4.

The Toyota RAV4 had its best month on record.

The result comes as Toyota’s new vehicle supply chain returns to normal levels following lengthy delays throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

It also helps justify a switch to more efficient – and expensive – hybrid-only engines for the Yaris and Corolla hatchbacks.

Toyota vice president for sales and marketing, Sean Hanley, said wait times for new cars have dropped significantly from year-long delays recently endured by customers.

“Record deliveries are not a goal in themselves,” he said.

“They highlight the pent-up demand for hybrids and the success being achieved in substantially reducing customer wait times.

Toyota has gone all-in on hybrid cars.

“While it would be easy to assume this result is simply driven by historic demand, it is not the full picture. Customer orders in April remained high, demonstrating a growing number of Australians are seeking fuel-efficient hybrids that are practical, capable and affordable.

“We remain focused on meeting this demand. Based on our delivery plan, average wait times for Hybrid Electric variants of RAV4, Corolla hatch and C-HR will be back to normal by the end of next month – just three to four months, if not even better.” Mr Hanley said.

Toyota’s improved supply helped sales of hybrid powered cars increase from a 7.5 per cent share of the market in 2023 to 18.3 per cent of the market last month.

Ford took second place for the month with 8,648 sales, ahead of Mazda (7,301), Kia (6,653) and Mitsubishi (5,314).

More than 97,000 new cars were delivered last month, putting the market 50,000 vehicles ahead of 2023 for the year to date.

Ford’s Ranger is on top of sales this year.

Tony Weber, chief executive for the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, said the car industry broke ten record monthly sales results in the past year.

“April’s result highlights strong consumer confidence in purchasing new vehicles,

surpassing our expectations and is a testament to consumer choice and the industry’s

resilience in a challenging economic landscape,” he said.

In the same way that a good month for Toyota turbocharged hybrid sales, slower deliveries for Tesla put the brakes on electric cars.

Tesla had a weak month for deliveries – but plenty more are on the way. Photo: Mohd RASFAN / AFP

Sales of electric cars were down in April 2024 (6,194) compared to the same month last year (6,530).

The American brand’s rollercoaster-like sales took a dip in April, when Tesla delivered less than half as many cars as it did in March.

But the brand will bounce back in coming weeks, helped by the arrival of its new Tesla Model 3 Performance sedan.