Australia’s most popular car brand is Toyota, according to new registration data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The Japanese brand currently has over three million passenger vehicles registered in Australia. With almost 15 million total passenger vehicles registered across the country, that means roughly one in every five cars on the road is a Toyota.
Toyota is also the most popular brand in terms of new car sales. According to car sale figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), Toyota has sold close to 119,000 vehicles in Australia this year to June 2021, miles ahead of its nearest rival Mazda (about 60,000 sales). The Toyota HiLux is also regularly amongst the top selling cars in Australia.
Top 10 car brands in Australia
So which other makes are the most popular in Australia? Here are the top 10 for 2021, based on ABS vehicle registration data:
Bear in mind that these figures consider all registered vehicles in Australia and include older vehicles that people may have had for some time.
1. Toyota
Toyota topped the listed with 3.04 million passenger vehicles registered in Australia. According to the ABS, Toyota has been the most popular car brand for the past 16 years in a row. As well as the Toyota HiLux, some other popular models at the time of writing include the Toyota RAV4, Toyota Corolla, Toyota LandCruiser wagon, Toyota Prado and Toyota Camry.
2. Holden
Despite shutting its doors at the end of last year, Holden remains the second most popular car brand on Australian roads with 1.49 million registered passenger vehicles. Last year, CarsGuide reported that the Holden Colorado and Holden Trax were its best sellers.
3. Mazda
Mazda came in third place with 1.36 million registrations in Australia. One of its most popular models is currently the Mazda CX-5.
4. Hyundai
Coming in fourth place was Hyundai with 1.18 million passenger vehicles registered. One of its top sellers is currently the Hyundai i30.
5. Ford
Ford came in fifth place with about 1.03 million passenger vehicles registered across Australia. The Ford Ranger is the second best-selling car in Australia in 2021 thus far, behind the Toyota HiLux.
6. Mitsubishi
Up next was Mitsubishi with 0.85 million passenger vehicles registered. Its top selling car in Australia is currently the Mitsubishi Triton.
7. Nissan
Nissan was not too far behind with 0.82 million registered vehicles. This year, its best selling model has been the Nissan X-Trail.
8. Honda
Honda came in eighth place with about 0.75 million registered vehicles. One of its best sellers is the Honda CR-V.
9. Subaru
Next was Subaru with about 0.72 million registered vehicles. This year, its best seller has been the Subaru Forester.
10. Volkswagen
Coming in 10th place was Volkwagen with nearly 0.55 million vehicles registered in Australia. One of its top selling new cars is the Volkswagen Golf.
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Top 10 new car brands in Australia
Toyota is also the most popular car brand in terms of new car sales for 2021 to the end of June. It’s worth noting that most cars on the road are not brand new – in fact, the ABS data found that the average age of passenger vehicles in Australia is 10.4 years. Here are the 10 best sellers for the year so far:
- Toyota
- Mazda
- Hyundai
- Kia
- Ford
- Mitsubishi
- Nissan
- Volkswagen
- Subaru
- MG
Of course, registration numbers and new car sales aren’t the only ways to measure popularity. You might also want to consider the car brand’s reliability, car servicing, driving experience and value for money. If you’re interested in reviewing different car makes and models, you can head over to Canstar Blue where we ask Aussie consumers to rate cars from brands like Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai and more.
Cover image source: Travelpix/Shutterstock.com
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This content was reviewed by Sub Editor Jacqueline Belesky and Finance and Lifestyle Editor Shay Waraker as part of our fact-checking process.
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