Last month’s strong showing backed up the 17.3% growth in sales seen in August to register the strongest September result since 2018, although it still sits below the average sales for the five years prior to COVID-19.

It brings the year-to-date (YTD) total to 811,130, cutting the total decline on 2021’s numbers from 2.1% in August to 0.6% by the end of September (816,140 in 2021) as the market continues to recover from the onset of the pandemic.

In terms of vehicle classes, SUVs were the biggest mover compared to the same month last year, with the 49,643 units shifted resulting in a 21.6% increase overall. Light (22,252, 11.1%) and heavy commercial vehicles (4,170, 6.5%) both grew, but passenger vehicles experienced a comparative 5.6% drop to 17,940.

Sales for electric vehicles increased to a 7.7% share of the total market, comfortably recording the highest proportion of total sales for battery-powered vehicles ever.

Market sales: September 2022

Vehicle sales by state or territory

Vehicle brands: September

Despite its ongoing issues with stock shortages, Toyota comfortably finished the month on top, albeit with only 14,852 units sold across the month. This represents a notable 26.5% drop compared to last September’s figures, but it still finished well ahead of the chasing pack. Its lead as the highest-selling brand in Australia expanded to over 100,000 vehicles, with 176,410 units sold this year to date.

Toyota’s closest competitors all saw growth on last year’s numbers, with Kia (7,290, 41.4%) pipping Mazda (7,259, 10.7%) to second place overall. Mitsubishi recorded a strong month (6,784, 47.3%), while Ford (6,635, 15.2%) ahead of Hyundai, despite the latter’s improved performance on last year (6,501, 19.1%).

Tesla maintained its position in seventh overall with another impressive showing (5,969 units sold) to smash last month’s numbers (3,397) and push well clear of Volkswagen (3,698, -2.5%), MG (3,261, 8.3%) and Subaru (3,167, 3.4%).

GWM (3,050, 69.4%) was one of the biggest improvers on last September’s sales, finishing just outside the top ten for the month, while BMW (2,032, 38.7%), Honda (1,258, 35.9%) and Volvo (1,001, 62.8%) all experienced substantial increases.

Isuzu Ute, meanwhile, had another disappointing month, with its 2,818 representing a 10.0% decrease compared to last year and finished outside the top ten brands for the second successive month. Nissan (1,885, -33.1%) also took a substantial hit on last year’s figures.

With Toyota remaining out in front for YTD sales, Mazda held onto second place with 73,894 vehicles purchase so far this year, despite remaining 11.6% behind last year’s numbers. Kia (60,200, 12.9%) closed the gap on third-placed Mitsubishi (60,523, 16.1%) to just over 300 units, while Hyundai (58,103, 7.3%) rounded out the top five.

The only change to the top ten YTD brands from last month was Volkswagen (21,643, -33.0%), which rose to tenth and edged Mercedes-Benz (21,561, -4.3%) out of the list.

Best-selling vehicle brands: September 2022

Best-selling vehicle brands: year-to-date 2022

Vehicle models: September

The Toyota HiLux remained the best-selling vehicle across September with 5,170 units shifted, which was a massive 42.2% increase on last September’s numbers, despite some stern competition from the Ford Ranger (4,890, 16.7%).

Tesla’s Model Y rocketed into third place for the month with 4,359 models sold, placing it almost 2,000 vehicles ahead of the fourth-placed Mazda CX-5 (2,439), which itself was 72.4% ahead of the same month last year. The Model Y became the best-selling SUV in Australia for the month, knocking the Toyota RAV4 off its perch as it tumbled down to eighth for September (1,856, -45.3%).

The Mitsubishi Triton moved up to fifth for monthly sales with 2,319, which was a 310.4% increase on their sales from the same month in 2021, while another of Toyota’s models, the Prado, fell out of the top ten with just 1,698 units shifted (21.9% decrease).

In terms of YTD sales, the HiLux remains well out in front with 49,796 vehicles sold so far, representing a 22.1% increase compared to this stage last year. The Ranger sits in second (32,115, -14.5%), while the RAV4 kept hold of third overall (27,148, -7.2%) despite its quiet month.

Best-selling vehicle models: September 2022

Best-selling vehicle models: year-to-date 2022