National scene

For the month of September

• There was a total of 93,555 new vehicles delivered in September 2022, an increase of 10,243 vehicles or 12.3 per cent over September 2021
• All market segments recorded higher sales in September, except for passenger vehicles, which recorded a decline of 5.6 per cent. SUV sales up 21.6 per cent; Light commercials up 11.1 per cent; Heavy commercial vehicles up 6.5 per cent
• While supplies of new cars to the Australian market are showing signs of improvement, logistical and supply chain issues remain problematic as the global automotive market continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial year to date

• Year to date, there have been 811,130 new vehicles sold. This is 5,010 fewer vehicles sold or a decline of 0.6 per cent over the same period last year.

State numbers

• While September was a good month for sales of new vehicles, sales were concentrated in only a few states/territories, with the remainder recording sales declines
•  The highest sales growth was recorded by the ACT (67.7 per cent), followed by Victoria (23.8 per cent), NSW (20.8 per cent) and Queensland (2.9 per cent)
• Sales declines were recorded in the NT (-9.8 per cent), WA (-6.0 per cent), SA (-2.2 per cent) and Tasmania (-0.9 per cent).

Commercial vehicles

• Heavy commercial vehicles continued their growth run with 4,140 sales in September, an increase of 256 vehicles or 6.5 per cent over September last year
• Year to date, 34,408 heavy commercial vehicles have been sold, up 8.1 per cent over the same period last year.

Sales by Vehicle category and fuel type

Pure electric vehicles

• 7,247 pure electric vehicles were sold in September 2022, which was more than hybrid and plug-in-hybrid sales combined (5,141)
• Of the 7,247 pure EVs sold in September, 5,969 vehicles or 82.4 per cent were Teslas
• The Tesla Model Y was the highest selling vehicle electric vehicle by far, with 4,359 sales in September, followed by the Tesla Model 3 with 1,610 sales.

Year to date sales

• 21,771 pure electric vehicles have been sold year to date, representing 2.7 per cent of all new vehicles sold
• Tesla vehicles account for 64.4 per cent of all pure EV sales year to date.

Plug-in-hybrids

• 525 plug-in-hybrid vehicles were sold in September, an increase of 224 vehicles or 74.4 per cent over September last year
• Year to date, 4,584 PHEVs have been sold, accounting for 0.6 per cent of the new vehicle market.

Hybrids, petrol and diesel

• 4,616 hybrid vehicles sold in September this year, representing a decline of 2,343 vehicles or 33.7 per cent over September last year
• 47,620 petrol vehicles were sold in September this year, an increase of 2,748 vehicles or 6.1 per cent over September last year
• 29,377 diesel vehicles were sold in September 2022, up 2.577 vehicles or 9.6 per cent over last year.

Best sales performers

There were many notable sales performers during September 2022. Including:

• GWM Haval H6 – 1,294 sales in September, up 210.3 per cent
• Kia Sportage – 1,775 sales, up 217.5 per cent
• Mazda CX-5 – 2,439 sales, up 72.4 per cent
• Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace – 756 sales, up 276.1 per cent
• Mitsubishi Triton 4x4 – 2,029 sales, up 428.4 per cent
• Toyota HiLux 4x4 – 3,544 sales, up 48.8 per cent
• Hyundai Staria people mover – 344 sales, up 322.8 per cent
• Subaru WRX – 305 sales, up 199 per cent
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 278 sales, up 247.5 per cent.

Best luxury/sports brand performers

• Lamborghini sold 22 vehicles in September this year compared to only 11 last year
• Bentley sold 24 vehicles in September this year compared to 21 last year
• Rolls-Royce sold eight vehicles in September this year compared to two last year
• Maserati sold 68 vehicles in September this year compared to 39 last year
• Porsche sold 330 vehicles in September this year compared to 300 last year.

Across all brands, Toyota led the market with 14,852 vehicles sold. Kia was next with 7,290, followed by Mazda (7,259), Mitsubishi (6,784) and Ford (6,635).

The Toyota HiLux was the highest selling model with 5,170 sales reported. The Ford Ranger followed with 4,890. Tesla’s Model Y was next with 4,359, followed by Mazda’s CX-5 (2,439) and Mitsubishi’s Triton (2,319).

Economic Trends

While it is encouraging to see some improvement in the supply of new vehicles to Australia, there are many economic storm clouds on the horizon that may threaten future consumer demand. Interest rate rises are now impacting negatively on house prices as well as on consumer wallets. Internationally, recessionary pressures are building in the US and Europe, from which Australia will not be immune. The next few months will be a challenging period both domestically and internationally.