February marked another record-breaking month for the Australian car industry, with its 105,023 new car registrations smashing the former benchmark by over 8,500 units, according to data released in the latest VFACTS report by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

The figure also stands at 20.9% higher than sales over the same period in 2023, albeit last February saw significant strain on the Australian market due to delays and quarantine issues.

It also became not only the second straight month to break an all-time record (January’s 89,782 also topped the charts) but the seventh month out of the last eight to reach this mark, which dates back to the start of the 2023/24 financial year in July.

Just under one in ten vehicles sold throughout the month were battery electric cars (9.6%), while that number increases to over one in five when accounting for hybrid cars and PHEVs (21.5%).

As expected with the big bump in sales, the three consumer vehicle segments all saw substantial growth compared to last year, with light commercial being the most significant at 26.7% ahead of SUVs (+20.6%) and passenger cars (+19.3%).

This was also the case across the states and territories, with all seeing growth upwards of 15%, led by Victoria (28,415, +29.8%), Tasmania (1,817, +28.5%) and Queensland (22,466, +21.9%).

It’s important to note, though, that forecasts from industry experts still predict a downturn in sales as the year wears on and supply finally catches up to demand, which is said to be on the decline.

Market sales: February 2024

Vehicle sales by state or territory: February 2024

Vehicle brands: February

With supply issues that plagued Toyota towards the start of last year now largely behind it, the Japanese superpower has gone full steam ahead on filling backorders to start the year, with the 19,374 new registrations recorded in February representing an increase of 35.2%.

This places them well ahead of the chasing pack, where Mazda continues to lag behind 2023’s numbers (7,350, -4.1%) and has Ford breathing down its neck in third place (7,275, +20.8%).

Surprisingly, Nissan returned to the best-sellers’ list in emphatic fashion, with its 6,617 vehicles catapulting it into fourth place in the monthly standings and 157.2% ahead of where it sat 12 months ago.

Mitsubishi rounded out the top five (6,411, +16.6%), meaning there was no room for either Kia (6,141, +2.4%) or Hyundai (5,703, +3.6%) at the top of the charts and forcing them to settle for sixth and seventh, respectively.

MG also slid to tenth (4,474, +2.5%) after strong months of growth from Tesla (5,665, +61.1%) and Isuzu Ute (4,692, +48.7%) saw them each leapfrog the Chinese manufacturer.

GWM (3,458, +47.0%) and Subaru (3,802, -6.2%) both slipped from the top ten, having occupied spots in January, while Volkswagen (3,169, +8.2%) continued to knock on the door.

In terms of year-to-date (YTD) sales, Toyota continues to stand head and shoulders above the rest (37,277, +34.6%), with Mazda (15,515, -9.1%), Ford (13,899, +9.9), Mitsubishi (12,322, +14.3%) and Hyundai (11,865, +4.9%) completing the top five after two months.

Best-selling vehicle brands: February 2024

Best-selling vehicle brands: 2024

Vehicle models: February

It was another convincing win for the Ford Ranger in the monthly sales records, with 5,353 units shifted across February at a rate 19.7% higher than the same period last year.

After beating out its main competitor, the Toyota HiLux, by just under 700 in January, the Ranger increased its lead to almost 1,000 last month after the HiLux recorded 4,403 new registrations (+11.8%).

It wasn’t just the HiLux featuring prominently in the model rankings, with the RAV4 finishing fifth (2,843, +34.4%) and Corolla in seventh off the back of strong monthly growth (2,439, +100.9%)

Tesla’s Model 3 had a big month, returning to the top three best-selling models with 3,593 registrations (+34.5%) and doing enough to unseat the Isuzu Ute D-Max (2,941, +52.3%), which has occupied a top three spot for much of the past few months.

The American EV carmaker also had the Model Y sitting in tenth (2,072, +145.2%), marking the first time it’s had two vehicles in the top ten.

The Nissan X-TRAIL led the Japanese manufacturer’s surge up the leaderboard in February, with its 2,508 registrations catapulting it into sixth overall for the month at a growth rate of 283.5% higher than at the same stage last year.

Fresh off its big annual victory last year, the Ford Ranger took out top honours among all vehicle models in January with 4,747 registrations, which was just two fewer than it managed over the same period last year.

The MG ZS (2,357, +15.1%) and Mitsubishi Outlander (2,209, +2.0%) completed the top ten.

After two months of sales, the top five best-selling models are dominated by Toyota, with the HiLux (8,495, +5.3%) sandwiched by the Ranger (10,100, +9.5%) and D-Max (5,482, +45.3%) while the RAV4 (5,054, +24.1%) and Corolla (4,384, +88.2%) round out the set.

Best-selling vehicle models: February 2024

Best-selling vehicle models: 2024