Australian new-car sales in January 2025: Toyota RAV4 leads another VFACTS decline

Sales of new motor vehicles have commenced 2025 with the sixth decline in the past seven months, as the car industry prepares for a decline in deliveries after a record 2024.

It is down 2.4 per cent on the same month a year prior – the all-time January record – though it is up on the 84,873 deliveries reported this time in 2023.

Contributing to the decline was a strike at key ports around Australia, which saw tens of thousands of cars stranded offshore for much of the first half of the month as stevedores called for increased pay.

Industry analysts have forecast about 1.18 million new-vehicle sales in 2025, compared to 2024's record 1.24 million.

January 2025 was the sixth decline in the past seven months – after a one-off uptick in December 2024 – as the cost-of-living crisis sees Australians tighten their purse strings and hold off on buying new cars.

Deliveries to private buyers were down 7.4 per cent, according to FCAI data, while the only buyer type posting growth was business customers (up 4.6 per cent).

Yet many of the top brands reported sales growth, with Toyota – still the top-selling manufacturer – posting 18,424 deliveries, up 2.9 per cent, fresh off a record 2024 when it sold 241,296 cars for its 23rd year in a row on top.

It was followed by Mazda in its previously-held second-placed position – with 8322 sales, up 1.9 per cent – ahead of Ford (6830 sales, up 3.1 per cent), Kia (5720, up 0.2 per cent) and Mitsubishi (5681, down 3.9 per cent).

Hyundai reported the largest decline of the Top 10 sellers – down 11.1 per cent to 5478 cars, in sixth place – while Chery sales were up 152 per cent to 1837 sales, landing it 13th place.

Contributing to the market decline were brands such as Tesla (down 33 per cent), BYD (down 48.5 per cent, due in part to the port strikes), LDV (down 34.2 per cent), Isuzu Ute (down 23.6 per cent) and Hyundai.

The Toyota RAV4 was Australia's top-selling new car last month, up 129.6 per cent year-on-year to 5076 sales – ahead of the Ford Ranger (4254, down 10.4 per cent).

Toyota also held third and fourth positions with the HiLux ute (3302, down 19.3 per cent) and Prado 4WD (2847, up 63.1 per cent) respectively, followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (2090, up 0.6 per cent).

No traditional 'passenger cars' finished in the Top 10, with the Toyota Corolla just missing out on the honour with an 11th-placed result, less than 30 sales behind the Mazda CX-3 SUV (1583 vs 1608).

Tesla recorded its worst month for deliveries since July 2022 – when its Shanghai factory was coming out of a COVID-19 lockdown – down 33 per cent, while sales of electric cars from all other brands were down 18.3 per cent.

In total, just 3832 electric vehicles were reported as sold last month, down 21.7 per cent year-on-year.

Demand for 'plug-less' hybrids continued to grow, up 51.5 per cent to 14,836 deliveries, while plug-in hybrid sales continued to grow (up 88.5 per cent, to 1908 vehicles) as the end of lucrative tax breaks in April looms.

Data below supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC). Note: a number of models have switched categories for the New Year.

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner

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