Official sales figures for 2011 put the total at 1,008,437, down by 2.6 per cent on 2011 but still a remarkable result after a series of natural disasters in Australia, global economic uncertainty and floods, an earthquake and tsunami in Thailand and Japan that badly affected the supply of vehicles.
Toyota topped the charts for the ninth straight year, while the Mazda3 was the country's favourite car.
The Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon were the big losers in 2011, as the 3 ended the Commodore's 15-year run as Australia's favourite car - by a margin of 812 - and Falcon's support dropped by 36.5 per cent and it was only ninth among the country's best sellers.
Results for 2011 reflect the continuing improvement by Mazda, which finished fourth overall with a 4.2 lift in sales, as well as Hyundai and Volkswagen, which had the biggest growth among leading brands with a 17.7 per cent improvement.
On the other side, Honda was the biggest loser with a 25.4 per cent fall in 2011 deliveries.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says the result was a good one after the challenges of 2011 and is predicting another one-million result for 2012.
"This achievement highlights the determination of the Australian automotive industry to be successful within one of the most open and competitive markets in the world," says FCAI chief executive, Ian Chalmers.
"This number also is a welcome indication of the strong underlying demand that exists in Australia for personal transportation."
Commenting on the continuing slide in large-car sales, Chalmers says it reflects changing consumer preferences.
"While Australians keep buying more cars, the cars they buy are getting smaller. The demand for sport utility vehicles was up again - an increase of 3.8 per cent - which is a phenomenal result suggesting that Australians are embracing SUVs as the new family car."
| TOP 10 BRANDS | 2011 | 2010 | ||
| Toyota | 181,624 | 214,718 | ||
| GM Holden | 126,095 | 132,923 | ||
| Ford | 91,243 | 95,284 | ||
| Mazda | 88,333 | 84,777 | ||
| Hyundai | 87,008 | 80,038 | ||
| Nissan | 67,926 | 62,676 | ||
| Mitsubishi, | 61,108 | 62,496 | ||
| Volkswagen | 44,740 | 38,016 | ||
| Subaru | 34,011 | 40,025 | ||
| Honda | 30,107 | 40,375 | ||
| TOP 20 MODELS | 2011 | 2010 | ||
| Mazda3 | 41,429 | 29,003 | ||
| Holden Commodore | 40,617 | 45,956 | ||
| Toyota HiLux | 36,124 | 39,896 | ||
| Toyota Corolla | 36,087 | 41,632 | ||
| Holden Cruze | 33,784 | 28,334 | ||
| Hyundai i30 | 28,869 | 29,772 | ||
| Nissan Navara | 21,675 | 21,171 | ||
| Toyota Camry | 19,169 | 25,014 | ||
| Ford Falcon | 18,741 | 29,516 | ||
| Mitsubishi Lancer | 18,711 | 23,076 | ||
| Volkswagen Golf | 18,383 | 15,425 | ||
| Mazda2 | 17,501 | 14,794 | ||
| Mitsubishi Triton | 17,188 | 16,578 | ||
| Toyota Yaris | 16,214 | 21,452 | ||
| Ford Ranger | 15,586 | 14,686 | ||
| Ford Territory | 13,866 | 11,558 | ||
| Subaru Forester | 13,142 | 14,644 | ||
| Toyota RAV4 | 13,125 | 14,597 | ||
| Ford Focus | 12,863 | 9848 | ||
| Suzuki Swift | 12,388 | 12,161 | ||
| THE SEGMENTS | 2011 | 2010 | DIFFERENCE | % |
| Passenger | 559,314 | 592,122 | -32,808 | -5.5% |
| Light | 132,442 | 137,916 | -5474 | -4.0% |
| Small | 244,090 | 239,098 | 4992 | 2.1% |
| Medium | 75,984 | 82,622 | -6638 | -8.0% |
| Large | 78,077 | 98,583 | -20,506 | -20.8% |
| Upper Lge | 3042 | 3753 | -711 | -18.9% |
| People Movers | 11,109 | 12,655 | -1546 | -12.2% |
| Sports | 14,570 | 17,495 | -2925 | -16.7% |
| SUV | 244,136 | 235,285 | 8851 | 3.8% |
| SUV Compact | 121,387 | 114,761 | 6626 | 5.8% |
| SUV Medium | 80,485 | 83,811 | -3326 | -4.0% |
| SUV Large | 12,336 | 12,256 | 80 | 0.7% |
| SUV Luxury | 29,928 | 24,457 | 5471 | 22.4% |
| Light Commercial | 176,940 | 179,553 | -2,613 | -1.5% |
| Heavy Commercial | 28,047 | 28,614 | -567 | -2.0% |
| TOTAL MARKET | 1,008,437 | 1,035,574 | -27,137 | -2.6% |
| THE STATE OF THE NATION | 2011 | 2010 | DIFFERENCE | % |
| ACT | 15,756 | 16,284 | -528 | -3.2% |
| NSW | 314,576 | 316,470 | -1,894 | -0.6% |
| NT | 9991 | 10,223 | -232 | -2.3% |
| QLD | 210,899 | 207,919 | 2980 | 1.4% |
| SA | 62,760 | 66,444 | -3,684 | -5.5% |
| TAS | 16,769 | 19,370 | -2601 | -13.4% |
| VIC | 268,194 | 281,411 | -13,217 | -4.7% |
| WA | 109,492 | 117,453 | -7,961 | -6.8% |
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