The long-forecasted cracks have begun appearing in Australia's new-car market, with a record nine-month result tempered by a steep drop in sales in September compared to last year.
In all, 97,020 new vehicles were sold in September in Australia, pushing our market above 900,000 vehicles in just three quarters for the first time. But while early 2024 results drove that total, September sales stalled, down 12.4 per cent on the same month in 2023.
Among the hardest hit were two giants of our new-car sales race, the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, with both suffering significant falls versus the same month in 2023.
The Toyota HiLux recorded 4313 sales in September, down 25.3 per cent from the 5776 it managed in September 2023. The Ford Ranger shifted 4485 units, down 17.4 per cent on the 5429 it managed in the same month last year.
The utes' stumble opened the door for the Toyota RAV4 to claim the title of Australia's best-selling vehicle for the second month running, shifting 5182 units in September, up a massive 85.2 per cent on the 2798 it managed in the same month last year, as Toyota's production woes ease up and orders are fulfilled.
The overall numbers show an easing off in Australian new-car sales, with EV sales stagnating and the broader market beginning to stutter - something Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive Tony Weber attributes to the state of the economy.
“During the early part of the year we witnessed record numbers,” Weber said.
“However, the September result shows that the state of the economy is impacting purchasing intentions."
Toyota finished the month in first place on the sales charts, accounting for one in every five sales in Australia with a total 18,110 units delivered. Still, that's down on September 2023, when 20,912 Toyotas found homes – a drop of more than 15 per cent.
Ford was in second place, with 8303 sales – up 3.6 per cent on the same month last year – while Mazda finished third, shifting 8201 vehicles, up 2.1 per cent.
Kia finished fourth, with 7650 sales (up 4.8 per cent), while Mitsubishi rounded out the top five with 6130 sales, up 6.4 per cent month on month.
Hyundai (5633 sales), Isuzu (3929 sales), MG (3841 sales), GWM (3802 sales) and Subaru (3169 sales) rounded out the top 10 in September.
In terms of individual models, the Toyota RAV4, Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux claimed the podium positions, while the Ford Everest (2902 sales) and Isuzu D-Max (2612 sales) rounded out the top five.
The FCAI also called out "disappointing" EV sales, with 3561 reported deliveries, down 59.6 per cent compared to September 2023. But that figures comes with a huge caveat, with Tesla and Polestar both declining to provide sales data to the FCAI.
Tesla is Australia's biggest EV brand, with daylight second, so without their numbers included the FCAI EV report is not entirely reflective of the market.
That said, the sale of diesel and petrol vehicles both fell last month compared to September last year, while hybrid and PHEV numbers soared.
Top 10 car models by sales in September 2024 (Australia)
Rank |
Model |
Sales, Sep '24 |
1 |
Toyota RAV4 |
5182 |
2 |
Ford Ranger |
4485 |
3 |
Toyota HiLux |
4313 |
4 |
Ford Everest |
2902 |
5 |
Isuzu D-Max |
2612 |
6 |
2508 | |
7 |
2055 | |
8 |
1982 | |
9 |
1799 | |
10 |
1766 |
Top 10 car brands by sales in 2024 year-to-date September (Australia)
Rank |
Brand |
YTD '24 |
Sales, Sep '24 |
1 |
Toyota |
183,606 |
18,110 |
2 |
Ford |
74,564 |
8303 |
3 |
Mazda |
73,487 |
8201 |
4 |
Kia |
62,473 |
7650 |
5 |
Mitsubishi |
56,998 |
6130 |
6 |
Hyundai |
53,947 |
5633 |
7 |
Isuzu Ute |
37,577 |
3929 |
8 |
MG |
36,096 |
3841 |
9 |
Nissan |
34,660 |
3067 |
10 |
GWM |
31,793 |
3802 |
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