New Car Sales September 2017

Details: Written by James Kelly; Published: 05 October 2017

New car sales figures for September are out, 100,200 new cars were sold last month bringing the year’s total to 889,168, which sees the market on track to better the record 2016 result.

SUV sales remain slightly ahead of passenger cars (38.9 per cent to 38.1 per cent), but it’s our love of utes that continues to dominate the pointy end of the sales ladder.

Ford scored a rare win over rival Toyota with the Ranger being crowned Australia’s best selling model, relegating the HiLux to second place.

So far in 2017, Ford has moved 32,620 Rangers, an increase of 21 per cent over the same period in 2016.

The bean counters at Ford are obviously excited, personally, I would hold back on the high-fives until they score a few more wins. Ford is still struggling to find buyers for its underrated passenger cars, might be a good idea to focus on this.

Toyota easily remains Australia’s preferred brand with a 17,377 new registrations, a whopping 7049 in front of nearest rival, Mazda. Hyundai was able to secure the bronze medal.

Mitsubishi keeps punching well above its weight, an ageing and uninspiring fleet haven't been barriers to sales, the Japanese brand finished in fourth place with 7065 sales.

2547 Holden Commodores found new homes, sentimental enthusiasts know time is running out to grab a piece of Aussie automotive history, so now is the time to buy.

Mercedes-Benz was the best performer amongst the premium brands. An expanding portfolio full of superfluous models has done nothing to help BMW, the brand’s sales were down 21.3 per cent. Aiming to compete in every possible category has lead to overexposure and reduced the appeal of the badge. Mercedes are heading down the same yellow brick road.

The decline of Nissan continues down 23 per cent. The new Navara isn’t finding any love with lifestyle buyers and none of their SUVs are market leading. Perhaps a phone call to Mitsubishi could be beneficial.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive Tony Weber said: “Any month over 100,000 total sales has to be seen as a strong outcome, proving there is continued value for the consumer in the market.”

Top 10 selling new vehicles – September 2017

Ford Ranger – 4318

Toyota HiLux – 3822

Toyota Corolla – 3055

Mazda3 – 2776

Holden Commodore – 2547

Hyundai i30 – 2300

Toyota Camry – 2251

Hyundai Tucson – 2220

Mitsubishi Outlander – 2021

Mazda CX-5 – 1910

Top 10 selling vehicle brands – September 2017