VFACTS September: Mazda3 bounces back

The Mazda3 small car has bounced back to the top of the new car sales charts for the month of September.

Official figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries today reveal Mazda topped the nation’s best-selling list for the first time since January. The Mazda3 recorded 3491 registrations ahead of the Toyota Corolla (3423) and Toyota HiLux (3209).

But ultimately, it was the Corolla that benefitted most from a busy September. Celebrating 50 years in production this month, the ever-green small car surpassed the HiLux to become the best-selling car of 2016. Toyota has so far registered 30,948 Corollas this year, edging the small car narrowly ahead of HiLux (30,827).

Elsewhere, the Ford Ranger again found favour with Australian buyers, finishing the sales race in fourth overall during September. Hyundai was also well represented in the top ten thanks to strong performances from the i30, Tucson and Accent.

The rest of the Australian market continued its upward trajectory, re-affirming predictions of a record annual haul. The market is currently 2.8 per cent ahead year-to-date, anchored by a September which was 1.3 per cent up on 2015.

The lay of the land is familiar as ever. The passenger car segment fell overall compared with the same period in 2015, with a small blip in luxury passenger cars going against the grain. SUVs continued to gain traction with Australian buyers, meanwhile, with 6.8 per cent growth overall last month and 9.9 per cent growth year-to-date.

Fleets and business were a major factor in the strong September result, with numbers up across all categories. The private segment, meanwhile, gravitated towards SUVs and light commercials, contributing to a 15.8 per cent dip in private passenger car sales year to-date.

Luxury car sales were also up in September thanks namely to strong performances from Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.

Top selling brands in September: Toyota (16,716),  Mazda (12,009), Hyundai (9319), Holden (8564), Ford (7280), Mitsubishi (6701), Nissan (5177), Volkswagen (4380), Subaru (4050) and  Honda (3783).