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2020 biggest sales winners: Toyota RAV4, Audi Q3, Kia Seltos, Hyundai Venue, MG3 and other new cars grew the most in tough year

The Toyota RAV4 mid-size SUV had the largest volume increase of any model last year.

If you ask most people, 2020 was a year to forget, but for some automotive brands, there was a silver lining as the sales of certain models actually exploded in Australia, where the overall market was down 13.7 per cent.

Undoubtedly, it was Toyota’s RAV4 mid-size SUV that put in the most impressive performance in 2020, with its sales jumping 58.8 per cent over the previous year, to 38,537 units, which was enough to earn it a podium finish on the overall charts.

However, while the RAV4 had the largest volume increase of any model in 2020, it didn’t have the largest percentage increase. Instead, that honour went to Audi’s Q3 small SUV, with its sales up an astounding 441.7 per cent over the previous year, to 4090 examples.

In fact, when looking at the largest percentage increases, the RAV4 only ranked 14th, with the Kia Seltos small SUV (9966 units, +386.6%), Hyundai Venue light SUV (3678, +195.4%), LDV D90 large SUV (715, +170.8%) and Hyundai Veloster sports car (639, +145.8%) rounding out the top five.

Aside from the D90 that was updated in April last year, all of the aforementioned models had their first full year with new-generation versions on sale in 2020, which undoubtedly underpinned their sensational results. Even so, the Veloster was still quietly discontinued during the 12-month period.

Other models that surged without a new-generation version, let alone a facelift or an update, were the Mercedes-Benz Vito mid-size van (1195, +106.7%), Haval H6 mid-size SUV (957, +101.5%), MG3 light hatchback (7158, +78.2%), Suzuki Jimny light SUV (2368, +70.2%) and Great Wall Steed ute (1267, +42.2%).

It’s worth mentioning there are models that increased their percentage by more than some or all of the ones in the list below, but they were excluded as they were coming from a low base (less than 250 units sold in 2019).

2020 biggest sales winners (by percentage increase)

RankingModelSalesVariance %
1Audi Q34090+441.7
2Kia Seltos9966+386.6
3Hyundai Venue3678+195.4
4LDV D90715+170.8
5Hyundai Veloster639+145.8
6Mercedes-Benz GLS813+119.1
7Haval H21988+116.6
8Mercedes-Benz Vito1195+106.7
9Nissan Juke1048+105.9
10Haval H6957+101.5
11SsangYong Musso1084+98.9
12MG37158+78.2
13Suzuki Jimny2368+70.2
14Toyota RAV438,537+58.8
15LDV T605581+58.1
16Audi A1504+55.1
17MG ZS5494+47.3
18Mazda CX-83738+46.5
19Mercedes-Benz CLA2082+46.2
20Suzuki Baleno3326+46.1
21Nissan Patrol2820+44.5
22BMW X7866+42.4
23Great Wall Steed1267+42.2
Justin Hilliard
Head of Editorial
Justin’s dad chose to miss his birth because he wanted to watch Peter Brock hopefully win Bathurst, so it figures Justin grew up to have a car obsession, too – and don’t worry, his dad did turn up in time after some stern words from his mum. That said, despite loving cars and writing, Justin chose to pursue career paths that didn’t lend themselves to automotive journalism, before eventually ending up working as a computer technician. But that car itch just couldn’t be scratched by his chipped Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7), so he finally decided to give into the inevitable and study a Master of Journalism at the same time. And even with the long odds, Justin was lucky enough to land a full-time job as a motoring journalist soon after graduating and the rest, as they say, is history. These days, Justin happily finds himself working at CarsGuide during the biggest period of change yet for the automotive industry, which is perhaps the most exciting part of all. In case you’re wondering, Justin begrudgingly sold the Golf R (sans chip) and still has plans to buy his dream car, an E46 BMW M3 coupe (manual, of course), but he is in desperate need of a second car space – or maybe a third.
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