Record new car sales in September

As Australian families struggle with soaring new-car prices, rising interest rates and cost-of-living concerns, the latest market results will raise some eyebrows.

Utes remain popular with Australians. Picture: Supplied

Australians are on target to buy a record number of new cars this year, despite soaring prices, rising interest rates and cost of living pressures.

Four of the past five months have set sales records, as supply returns to normal and manufacturers clear a huge backlog of orders.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said the market was on target to reach 1.2 million sales in 2023, eclipsing the previous record mark set in 2017.

“We could hit an all-time record,” he said.

Australians have bought almost 900,000 vehicles so far this year, 10,000 more than the same period in 2017.

Sales were up 18 per cent to 110,702 vehicles in September, driven by huge demand for utes and SUVs, which made up almost 80 per cent of the market.

Utes continue to dominate new-car sales. The Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max filled three of the top four spots on the sales charts. Picture: Thomas Wielecki.

The Toyota HiLux, Australia’s best-selling vehicle for the past seven years, led the charge, followed by arch rival the Ford Ranger and Tesla’s Model Y electric car.

Mr Weber said the result underscored the strength of the market and improving supply of new cars, which was clearing a backlog of orders.

“A lot of it is backlog, but there is still a strength in the marketplace,” he said.

Electric vehicles made up 8 per cent of sales, while hybrids accounted for more than 10 per cent, helped by better supply of the market-leading Toyota RAV4.

The RAV4 was fifth on the sales charts, while the Isuzu D-Max ute came in fourth. The results show a huge divide in buyer tastes that will need to be addressed by the Federal Government when it releases its plan for mandatory fuel efficiency standards later this year.

Car buyers are gravitating to either the most efficient or least efficient vehicles in the market.

The Tesla Model Y was the third best selling car in the country. Photo: Mark Bean.

“People buy what meets their needs. Australians have always driven big cars and I don’t see any substantial change,” Mr Weber said.

He said the government risked stifling growth in the market if it set too strict CO2 targets for utes and large SUVs.

“It becomes a question of whether the government wants to regulate to the extent that they are saying, by default, consumers can’t buy these cars anymore, or rationing them,” he said.

“It’s a matter of time before we get to zero-emission vehicles, it’s just a question of what the trajectory looks like. If we get the trajectory wrong, those vehicles will be rationed. The price will go up and you will have people holding onto their cars longer and thus we’ll have an older and dirtier fleet. And the policy to clean the fleet will have backfired,” he said.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said emissions policy needed to take into account Australians’ buying habits. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Weber said recent improvements in supply should eventually lead to lower new and used car prices.

“If demand remains the same and supply increases then by default prices should fall,” he said.

Toyota continued to dominate the market in September with 20,912 sales, more than the second-placed Mazda (8031 sales) and third-placed Ford (8015 sales) combined.

Sister brands Kia and Hyundai rounded out the top five.

SUV sales were up by close to 30 per cent, driven by strong results from Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen and Toyota.

Despite the growth in the market this year, a number of heavyweight brands are experiencing declining sales due to continuing supply issues. Toyota, Kia, Mitsubishi and Hyundai have all recorded drops in sales, while Mazda sales are flat.

By contrast Nissan, Ford, Volkswagen and MG are enjoying bumper years.