Ranger who? Mazda out-muscles Ford to chase down Toyota as new-car sales boom in September

Mazda has emerged as the clear second-best-selling brand in Australia, extending its lead over Ford in September despite the enduring popularity of the latter’s Ranger dual-cab.

In the battle of the models, the Toyota HiLux was again Australia’s most popular vehicle, with 5776 finding homes last month, enough to edge the Ford Ranger, which shifted 5429 units.

In third place was the Tesla Model Y, with 3811 sales, followed by the Isuzu D-Max (2885 sales) and the Toyota RAV4 (2798 sales). The Mitsubishi Outlander, MG ZS, Toyota Corolla, Kia Sportage and the Ford Everest claimed positions six through 10.

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But despite not having a model in the top-10 list, Mazda remains Australia’s second-top brand overall, with its 8031 sales last month enough to edge Ford’s 8015 sales, and to extend the Japanese brand’s year-to-date lead over its American rival, which is now 75,220 versus 61,204. Kia (7303 sales) and Hyundai (6217 sales) took out spots four and five on the brand list last month.

Still, none are within touching distance of Toyota, which recorded a monstrous 20,912 sales in September, bringing its year-to-date total to an untouchable 154,659 sales.

All up, 110,702 vehicles found homes last month - a new record for September - bringing the year-to-date total to almost 900,000 vehicles, ensuring 2023 will finish well in excess of the million-vehicle marker.

“The record result shows that Australian car buyers value a broad choice of vehicles in a range of price brackets that suit the family or business budget,” says FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber.

“Consumers have a choice of vehicles across 20 light vehicle segments – from small passenger cars through to larger utes – confirming Australia’s position as one of the most open and competitive new vehicle markets in the world.

“Our advice is that the supply of vehicles into Australia, including electric vehicles, continues to improve so those consumers who want to buy a new vehicle should visit a dealer or manufacturer.”

EV sales continue to control a growing chunk of the market, making up 8.0 percent of all sales last month, while “new energy” vehicles (BEVs, hybrids and PHEVs) accounted for 18.3 per cent of all sales.