Brakes tapped on vehicle registrations

As some old friends fall behind, new figures show which vehicles are finding favour with Australian drivers.

Oh, what a feeling! Bree Bleasdale, from Sippy Downs in Queensland, with her new Toyota Hilux. Picture: Lachie Millard

Toyota remains the number one registered vehicle on Australian roads, according to new figures which show car growth slowing.

Growth in the total number of registered motor vehicles slowed last year, increasing by 1.7 per cent to 19.5 million registered vehicles as of January this year, from an annual growth rate of 2.1 per cent previously, according to the ABS Motor Vehicle Census.

“While the total number of vehicles grew over the last year, it was a much smaller increase than the 2.1 per cent annual growth we have seen since 2015,” said ABS Transport Statistics director Lauren Binns.

Toyota remained the most popular vehicle make, with 2.9 million Toyotas registered as of January, followed by Holden, Mazda, Ford and Hyundai.

The number of registered Fords continued to decline, falling by 5.9 per cent since 2014, while the number of registered Holdens fell by 5.8 per cent over the same period.

Passenger vehicles on register cars

Meanwhile Mazdas have grown in popularity over the last five years, with the number of registered Mazdas up 5 per cent compared to 2014, while the number of Hyundais lifted 4.6 per cent.

Nearly 43,000 Porsche vehicles were registered as of January, up 6.8 per cent from 2014, while the number of Jaguars lifted 4.2 per cent to more than 32,000 over the same period.

The number of registered Kias has surged 12 per cent since 2014, with more than 400,000 Kia vehicles now on Australian roads.

The latest report by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries revealed that the Toyota Hilux ute was the best-selling new vehicle in Australia for June, followed by the Ford Ranger.

Toyota’s Corolla, the Rav4 and the LandCruiser all made the top ten list in June, with Kia’s Cerato sedan in sixth, and the Hyundai i30 as the third bestseller.

Diesel vehicles now make up nearly a quarter of all registrations, growing from 18.5 per cent in 2014.

Registrations of petrol-powered vehicles decreased from 2018 to 2019, falling to 73.6 per cent of all registered vehicles, down from 78.8 per cent in 2014.

Most states and territories reported an overall increase in vehicle registrations in 2019 but the rate of growth had slowed compared to a year ago, with the exception of Tasmania, which recorded a faster growth rate, and Western Australia, which had a steady growth rate.