New vehicle sales for September reached 94,711, a drop of 5.5 per cent when compared to September 2017 according to data released by the motor industry’s statistical service, VFACTS.

 

Year-to-date, the market is down 0.9 per cent with a cumulative total of 881,005 new car sales to the end of September.

 

Passenger car sales continued the downward trajectory with 30,487 sales (down 20.1 per cent) accounting for a 32.2 per cent market share. Despite having the top two selling models in the segment, light commercial sales fell by 2.3 per cent to 19,298 registration.

 

SUVs defied the overall market to record 41,420 sales, an increase of 6.2 per cent, driven largely by a 25.7 per cent increase in the small SUV segment.

 

Tony Weber, the Chief Executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, acknowledged that the results demonstrate an adjustment to the market after a sustained period of record sales.

 

“What we are seeing is a slightly slowing market, after the industry has produced five years of record sales over the past six years,” Mr Weber said.

 

Toyota again led with an 18.4 per cent share of the September market, followed by Hyundai (8.6 per cent), Mitsubishi (8.0 per cent), Mazda (7.5 per cent) and a resurgent Nissan (5.5 per cent).

 

Mazda endured a 31.5 per cent drop in sales over the same month last year, the brand claimed 7070 sales, a significant drop of 3258 sales. Perhaps warranty length isn’t a big deal?

 

Things continue to look bleak for Holden, despite 4651 sales, like Mazda, the drop was a substantial 32.4 per cent.

 

The Toyota HiLux was Australia’s best-selling vehicle during September with total sales of 4338, followed by the Ford Ranger with 3228 and the Toyota Corolla with 2917.

 

Luxury brands are also feeling the pinch, however, Jaguar and Volvo saw growth in September with 276 (up 65.3 per cent) and 682 (up 116 per cent) sales respectively.

 

More: All News

More: New Car Sales August 2018

More: New Car Sales July 2018

More: New Car Sales June 2018