Toyota’s local unit said it was “riding the crest of Australia’s wave of SUV popularity”, selling an industry record of over 7,500 SUVs last month, reflecting the trend to this type of vehicle in Europe and the US.
FCAI VFACTS sales data for May is due out imminently but the automaker usually makes its own announcement a day or so ahead of the official release.
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Recent FCAI data has reflected the steadily rising SUV share of the total market. Toyota said SUV sales accounted for 38.5% of the 19,500 new vehicles it sold in May 2018.
Its SUV tally beat the previous industry record of 7,050 Toyota set last March.
So far this year, its SUV deliveries have topped 33,400 vehicles – an increase of 22% year on year.
“The rapid recent acceleration in SUV sales is demonstrated by the fact that May was the 10th consecutive month that Toyota has set a monthly record for SUV sales,” the automaker said in a statement.
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By GlobalDataLast year, SUVs overtook passenger cars to become Australia’s largest automotive segment. Toyota led the segment with 71,660 sales.
“The strength of SUV sales is a major factor in Toyota this year delivering its highest January-May sales in a decade – more than 88,600 vehicles,” the automaker said.
Its total sales were up 5% year on year, YTD, resulting in overall sales over 40,000 units ahead of any other brand.
Toyota Australia vice president sales and marketing Sean Hanley said June was traditionally the strongest sales month of the year and he expected the brand’s positive sales momentum to continue.
“We have the product range and marketing campaigns locked in to ensure we and our dealers can deliver well over 20,000 vehicles in June while carrying over a healthy order bank into the third quarter,” Hanley said.
SUV sales are also buoyant in other markets. Crossovers and SUVs commanded 46% of all US sales in May. Total utility volume grew by 17.9% year-over-year and year-to-date (YTD) sales were up 13%. Utilities now make up more than 57% of all ‘people mover’ sales, including cars, minivans, MPVs, crossovers and sport utility vehicles.
The SUV boom continued in Europe in April, JATO Dynamics data showed. SUV was the best-selling segment in 24 of the 27 markets. Volume grew everywhere across Europe, with double-digit growth recorded in 25 markets and a huge 116% increase in Croatia. Over the last three years, the market share of SUVs has grown rapidly, jumping from 21.4% in April 2015 to 33.3% in April 2018.
Small SUVs were the biggest driver of growth in the segment, with 166,700 registrations. Their volume was up by 45% as they were boosted by new arrivals like the Volkswagen T-Roc, Dacia Duster, Citroen C3 Aircross, Opel Crossland, Seat Arona, Kia Stonic and Hyundai Kona. Compact SUV volume increased by 27%, which equates to 40,000 more units than in April 2017. They remain the top-selling type of SUV in Europe, and their April volume was boosted by double-digit growth by the Peugeot 3008, Ford Kuga, Toyota C-HR, as well as new arrivals like the Skoda Karoq, Jeep Compass and Opel Grandland.
