Kia has shaken up the new car sales market, pushing its way into second place behind Toyota for the first time ever. Oddly, that result comes despite not having a single vehicle in the top ten for May.
According to figures released today, the FCAI, the peak body for Australia’s automotive industry, a total of 94,383 vehicles were sold in May, bringing the year-to-date total to 437,884.
This result represents a decrease of 6.4 per cent on the same month in 2021. FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said global supply chains struggling to recover from pandemic impacts meant demand for new vehicles in Australia continues to outstrip supply.
“The global automotive industry continues to be plagued by a shortage of microprocessor units and shipping delays. This issue is not unique to Australia,” he said.
“Car makers continue to report high demand across dealer showrooms and online marketplaces. Pandemic interruptions continue to impact manufacturing and conflict in Ukraine has disrupted vehicle component supply,” Mr Webber added.
“Monthly sales figures are also dependent on shipping arrivals which continue to be uncertain. We do not expect supply chains to stabilise until these issues are resolved.”
Despite Kia’s success, sales across every State and Territory were down everywhere, apart from the Northern Territory where 973 vehicles were sold, representing an increase of 2.4 per cent on May 2021.
Sales in the ACT fell 11 per cent, with NSW falling 6.3 and Queensland down 11.3. South Australia fell 8.2 per cent, with Tasmania falling 6.8, Victoria down just 0.8 per cent, and WA dropping 9.1 per cent.
Toyota led the market with a total of 22,813 vehicles sold. Kia was next with 7,307 followed by Hyundai (7,063), Mazda (6,474) and Mitsubishi (6,086).
For the record, the actual top ten new car models includes the Toyota Hi-Lux and RAV4, Ford’s Ranger, the Corolla and LandCruiser. That’s followed by the Isuzu D-MAX, Toyota Prado, Mitsubishi Triton, Hyundai i30 and Mazda CX-5.
