VFACTS: September 2023 new car sales results for Australia

The September VFACTS new vehicle registration figures are out, and yep, it’s been another record month for the new car industry in Australia.

With 110,702 units registered, it was the best September recorded ever. And that follows on from the 109,966 sales in August 2023, which was also a record for the month. It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise in some ways, given the country’s population is growing.

It’s also a sign that the car industry in on the mend following the impact of the COVID pandemic, and in particular, production and supply chains freeing up. FCAI chief executive Tony Weber spoke about the results in a statement, saying:

“Consumers have a choice of vehicles across 20 light vehicle segments – from small passenger cars through to larger utes – confirming Australia’s position as one of the most open and competitive new vehicle markets in the world. Our advice is that the supply of vehicles into Australia, including electric vehicles, continues to improve so those consumers who want to buy a new vehicle should visit a dealer or manufacturer.”

2023 Toyota LandCruiser GR Sport headlights

To kick things off, what were the most popular new vehicle brands in September? Toyota remains the leader, reporting 20,912 sales. That’s up 40.8 per cent for the month, but contributes to a 12.3 per cent downturn across year-to-date (YTD).

Further down the top 10 list we see Kia has overtaken Hyundai for fourth spot compared with the previous month, and Mitsubishi has overtaken MG for sixth, while down below Isuzu has been bumped from the top 10 by Nissan.

See below for the top 10 best-selling car brands for September 2023, including the percentage change from the same month last year in brackets:

Toyota: 20,912 (+40.8% on September 2022)
Mazda: 8031 (+10.6%)
Ford: 8015 (+20.8%)
Kia: 7303 (+0.2%)
Hyundai: 6217 (-4.4%)
Mitsubishi: 5761 (-15.1%)
MG: 5400 (+65.6%)
Nissan: 4784 (+153.8%)
Subaru: 4302 (+35.8%)
Volkswagen: 4184 (+13.1%)

In terms of the most popular vehicle models in Australia during the month of September, yep, it was the Toyota HiLux once again. It outsold its arch rival pretty easily for the month, compared with August where the two were just 2 sales apart.

Further down the top 10 list we see the Hyundai Tucson and Toyota LandCruiser have been punted out by the Kia Sportage and Ford Everest, while the Tesla Model Y jumped up into third spot from eighth in August.

Here are the top 10 best-selling vehicles during September 2023, including the percentage change compared with the same month last year:

Toyota HiLux: 5776 (+11.7%)
Ford Ranger: 5429 (+11.0%)
Tesla Model Y: 3811 (-12.6%)
MG ZS: 3193 (+154.3%)
Isuzu D-Max: 2885 (+48.4%)
Toyota RAV4: 2798 (+50.8%)
Mitsubishi Outlander: 2612 (+39.0%)
Toyota Corolla: 2217 (+42.7%)
Kia Sportage: 2031 (+14.4%)
Ford Everest: 1984 (+147.4%)

2023 Ford Everest Sport Australia

Zoning in on the vehicle types, starting with the small under $40,000 class, and yes once again we see the Toyota Corolla dominating the field. It easily outsold all competitors by a big margin in September.

The two Toyota Prius models that have been listed here have been removed for September, leaving just eight models in this class. Class figures topped out at 5316 for the month, which is down 1.9 per cent on last September, contributing to a 21.2 per cent downturn across YTD.

Here are the full results (8 vehicles listed in VFACTS) for this category for September, with the percentage change compared with September 2022 in brackets:

Toyota Corolla: 2217 (+42.7%)
Hyundai i30: 1648 (-4.9%)
Mazda3: 491 (+13.1%)
MG MG5: 437 (new vehicle)
Kia Cerato: 361 (-71.3%)
Skoda Scala: 134 (+162.7%)
Subaru Impreza: 28 (-91.5%)
Hyundai Ioniq: 0 (-100%)

Stepping over into the small above $40,000 segment and it looks like this class is filling up with more models rather than losing models. The MG4 joined the list recently along with the GWM Ora, with the Cupra Born and Leon also entering the scene in last six months or so.

The best-seller for the month was the MG MG4 fully electric hatchback. It outsold the VW Golf by a decent margin, with the otherwise popular German rivals dropping right down – check out the percentage drops compared with last year.

Segment figures hit 2635 during the month, which is up 56.5 per cent on the same month last year. Total YTD sales are at 15,147 units, and that’s up 33.5 per cent. See below for the complete segment results for the month, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:

MG MG4: 645 (new vehicle)
Volkswagen Golf: 432 (+24.9%)
Audi A3: 334 (-17.2%)
Cupra Born: 218 (new vehicle)
Subaru WRX: 213 (-30.2%)
Mercedes-Benz A-Class: 179 (-31.7%)
Honda Civic: 157 (+124.3%)
BMW 1 Series: 119 (-39%)
BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe: 85 (-43.7%)
GWM Ora: 71 (new vehicle)
Cupra Leon: 47 (+213.3%)
MINI Clubman: 43 (+760%)
Nissan Leaf: 42 (+162.5%)
Peugeot 308: 33 (new model)
Renault Megane: 16 (+999%)
Mercedes-Benz B-Class: 1 (-96.7%)
Ford Focus: 0 (-100.0%)
BMW i3: 0 (-100%)

2023 Cupra Born - Driving Enthusiast

Over in the medium below $60,000 class, Toyota Camry sales continue on a steady journey, with all rivals floating behind. Camry figures are up 64 per cent for the month but down 11.7 per cent across YTD.

Total figures for this class hit 1403 units, which is up 52.2 per cent for the month yet down 5.2 per cent YTD. See below for the results of the complete lineup, with the percentage change compared with September 2022 in brackets:

Toyota Camry: 1089 (+64.3%)
Skoda Octavia: 152 (+999%)
Mazda6: 100 (-10.7%)
Volkswagen Passat: 48 (-50.5%)
Hyundai Sonata: 8 (-77.8%)
Honda Accord: 6 (-40%)

Into the medium above $60,000 segment, Tesla had a cracking month with the Model 3, easily outselling its rivals. Interestingly, the Polestar 2 outsold the Mercedes C-Class, perhaps signalling a trend towards electric vehicles in this class?

The segment reported 2347 newly-registered units during the month, and that’s down 17.4 per cent compared with the same month last year. So far this year, the class has reported 26,795 sales, up 40.9 per cent on the same nine-month period last year (YTD).

See below for the total results in this class for September, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:

Tesla Model 3: 1366 (-15.2%)
BMW 3 Series: 252 (-29.2%)
Polestar 2: 111 (+30.6%)
Lexus ES: 110 (+57.1%)
Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 95 (-65.8%)
Audi A4: 73 (+69.8%)
BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe: 70 (+4.5%)
Audi A5 Sportback: 50 (+4.2%)
Volkswagen Arteon: 46 (-29.2%)
Mercedes-Benz CLA: 45 (-60.2%)
BMW i4: 39 (+85.7%)
Hyundai IONIQ 6: 29 (new vehicle)
Alfa Romeo Giulia: 20 (-37.5%)
Volvo S60: 17 (-29.2%)
Volvo V60 Cross Country: 15 (-16.7%)
Peugeot 508: 5 (+66.7%)
Genesis G70: 4 (-50%)
Jaguar XE: 0 (-100.0%)
Lexus IS: 0 (0.0%)

Into the larger end, the large below $70,000 class remains pretty fragile, posting just 92 sales with just three different model lines. That’s down 35.2 per cent for the month, and YTD the total figure of 2040 is down 18.8 per cent.

See below for the full results for September 2023, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:

Kia Stinger: 49 (-50%)
Skoda Superb: 26 (-40.9%)
Citroen C5 X: 17 (new vehicle)

Across in the luxury field, the large above $70,000 segment was led by the Porsche Taycan. Despite its premium price, the feel-good sports sedan reported a 100 per cent increase in sales compared with the same month last year.

The BMW 5 Series continues posting reasonable figures, for this class, followed by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. These are set to transition to electric power soon as well, following the Taycan.

On that note, it’s interesting to see the Audi e-tron GT (sister vehicle to the Taycan) outsold the combustion-engined sibling, the A6 in September. Although, the next-gen 2025 A6 is just around the corner and is set to come with ‘e-tron’ electric power as well.

Total segment sales reached 251 units during the month, which is a 34.9 per cent increase on the same month last year. YTD, the score is up 24.1 per cent. See below for the complete results, with the percentage change compared with September last year in brackets:

Porsche Taycan: 54 (+100%)
BMW 5 Series: 47 (-6.0%)
Mercedes-Benz E-Class: 46 (+17.9%)
Audi e-tron GT: 35 (new vehicle)
Audi A6: 31 (+14.8%)
Mercedes-Benz EQE: 22 (new vehicle)
Audi A7: 13 (+85.7%)
Genesis G80: 1 (-91.7%) / Maserati Ghibli: 1 (-93.3%) / Jaguar XF: 1 (0.0%)
Toyota Mirai: 0 (0.0%)
Mercedes-Benz CLS: 0 (-100%)

2023 Bentley Flying Spur W12 - Driving Enthusiast

At the top end of the sedan segment, the upper large above $100,000 class was led by the BMW 7 Series, followed by the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. It seems CEOs and other executives selected the combustion-engined models over EVs, for the month, compared with August where the i7 fully electric model was the most popular.

Class figures topped out at 61 units for the month, and that’s up 48.8 per cent compared with last September. The YTD score is down 2.7 per cent. See below for the full results for this class, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:

BMW 7 Series: 14 (+180%)
Mercedes-Benz S-Class: 9 (-25%)
BMW i7: 8 (new vehicle) / Porsche Panamera: 8 (+300%)
Mercedes EQS: 7 (-36.4%)
BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe: 5 (+25%)
Mercedes-AMG GT 4: 3 (+300%) / Bentley sedan: 3 (+200%)
Rolls-Royce sedan: 2 (-33.%)
Audi A8: 1 (100%) / Maserati Quattroporte: 1 (0.0%)
Lexus LS: 0 (-100%)

Jumping into the desire-driven models, the entry sports below $80,000 category was led by Subaru BRZ once again. Not too far behind was its twin, the Toyota GR86, and then the BMW 2 Series two-door models.

Ford Mustang sales are dropping off visibly now after a fair few years at the top. But that’s likely due to the new model being just around the corner (set to arrive in Australia at the start of 2024).

Segment sales reached 531 units in September, and that’s down 10.9 per cent on the same month in 2022. The year-to-date tally is at 5281 units, up 56.6 per cent. See below for the full results for the month, with the percentage change compared with September last year in brackets:

Subaru BRZ: 158 (+97.5%)
Toyota GR86: 91 (-1.1%)
BMW 2 Series coupe/convertible: 81 (+9.5%)
Mazda MX-5: 77 (+30.5%)
MINI Cabrio: 58 (+241.2%)
Nissan Z: 42 (+13.5%)
Ford Mustang: 24 (-89.9%)
Nissan 370Z: 0 (outgoing model)

2023 Toyota GR86 - Driving Enthusiast

One rung up into the sports above $80,000 segment, and the BMW 4 Series crossed the line with the most sales. It easily outsold its competitors in September.

Segment sales reached 352 during the month, which is up 34.9 per cent on last September. The YTD tally is 2714 units, up 18.7 per cent on the same period last year.

See below for the full segment results, with the percentage change compared with September 2022 in brackets:

BMW 4 Series coupe/convertible: 111 (-3.5%)
Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe/convertible: 57 (+16.3%)
Chevrolet Corvette: 42 (+281.8%)
Porsche Cayman: 30 (+100%)
Lotus Emira: 26 (new vehicle)
Audi A5: 22 (+175%)
Toyota GR Supra: 14 (+999%)
Porsche Boxster: 13 (+44.4%)
Audi TT: 10 (+100%) / Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe/convertible: 10 (-61.5%)
Lexus LC: 8 (+300%)
BMW Z4: 7 (-50%)
Jaguar F-Type: 2 (-66.7%)
Alfa Romeo 4C: 0 (0%)
Alpine A110: 0 (0%)
Lexus RC: 0 (0%)
Lotus Elise: 0 (0%)
Lotus Exige: 0 (0%)
Caterham: 0 (0%)

At the top end of the sports cars, in the sports above $200,000 category, the Porsche 911 crossed the line with the most sales, again. It had a cracking month in September, with 86 units. That’s up 230.8 per cent on last September.

Ferrari and Lamborghini were stuck head-to-head, while most others trickled further behind. The segment is actually reporting impressive growth, with 162 units during the month, up 145.5 per cent on last September. The YTD tally of 1012 units is up 14.9 per cent as well.

See below for the full lineup results, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:

Porsche 911: 86 (+230.8%)
Lamborghini coupe/convertible: 23 (+53.3%) / Ferrari coupe/convertible: 23 (-999%)
Bentley coupe/convertible: 9 (-18.2%)
BMW 8 Series: 7 (+133.3%)
Aston Martin coupe/convertible: 6 (0.0%)
McLaren coupe/convertible: 5 (-500%)
Mercedes-Benz SL: 2 (new vehicle)
Maserati coupe/convertible: 1 (-80.0%)
Nissan GT-R: 0 (-100%)
Rolls-Royce coupe/convertible: 0 (-100%)
Audi R8: 0 (0%)

2023 Lamborghini Huracan STO - Driving Enthusiast

Over in the SUV classes, the Tesla Model Y was the best-selling SUV in September, which means it was also the best-selling premium SUV for the month. The Toyota RAV4 was the best-selling non-premium SUV.

Focusing in on the categories, the SUV Medium below $60,000 segment remains the most popular. It reported 18,546 units (up 24.2 per cent for the month), followed by the SUV Small below $45,000 segment with 14,191 units (up 45.5 per cent). Lastly, the SUV Large below $70,000 segment finished off as the third-most-popular SUV category, with 11,481 sales (also up 24.2 per cent).

See below for the complete sales (new registrations) results for each SUV category in September 2023, with the percentage change compared with the same month last year in brackets:

Best-selling SUVs – Light

Mazda CX-3: 1531 (+39.9%)
Toyota Yaris Cross: 641 (+191.4%)
Kia Stonic: 522 (-42.4%)
Volkswagen T-Cross: 494 (-8.5%)
Hyundai Venue: 487 (-12.4%)
Suzuki Jimny: 358 (-26.6%)
Ford Puma: 198 (+50%)
Suzuki Ignis: 158 (+56.4%)
Renault Captur: 92 (+29.6%)
Nissan Juke: 61 (+60.5%)

Best-selling SUVs – Small below $45,000

MG ZS: 2528 (+154.3%)
Hyundai Kona: 1218 (+10.9%)
Mazda CX-30: 1205 (+27.9%)
Mitsubishi ASX: 1167 (-17.1%)
Subaru Crosstrek: 1134 (new vehicle, replaces XV)
GWM Haval Jolion: 974 (+20.2%)
Kia Seltos: 936 (+21.2%)
Volkswagen T-Roc: 900 (+80.4%)
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross: 781 (+129%)
Nissan Qashqai: 691 (+999%)
Toyota Corolla Cross: 650 (new vehicle)
Chery Omoda 5: 624 (new vehicle)
Toyota C-HR: 444 (-18.7%)
Suzuki Vitara: 238 (-41.5%)
Honda HR-V: 175 (-55.8%)
Skoda Kamiq: 159 (+10.4%)
Renault Arkana: 135 (+29.8%)
Jeep Compass: 80 (-58.1%)
Suzuki S-Cross: 76 (+13.4%)
Mazda MX-30: 48 (-4.0%)
Peugeot 2008: 26 (-7.1%)
Citroen C4: 2 (-50%)
Subaru XV: 0 (-100%)
GWM Haval H2: 0 (-100%)

Best-selling SUVs – Small above $45,000

BMW X1: 516 (+479.8%)
Volvo XC40: 453 (-12%)
Audi Q3: 342 (-20.3%)
Lexus UX: 218 (+75.8%)
Kia Niro: 171 (+40.2%) / Audi Q2: 171 (+56.9%)
MINI Countryman: 151 (+13.5%)
Mercedes-Benz EQA: 108 (+54.3%)
Mercedes-Benz GLA: 102 (-53.2%)
Volvo C40: 67 (+737.5)
Alfa Romeo Tonale: 36 (new vehicle)
BMW X2: 10 (-84.8%)
Jaguar E-Pace: 7 (-69.6%)
Genesis GV60: 6 (-87)
Renault Megane E-Tech: 0 (new vehicle)

2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce - Driving Enthusiast

Best-selling SUVs – Medium below $60,000

Toyota RAV4: 2798 (+50.8%)
Mitsubishi Outlander: 2612 (+39%)
Kia Sportage: 2031 (+14.4%)
Mazda CX-5: 1888 (-22.6%)
Nissan X-Trail: 1784 (+259.7%)
Hyundai Tucson: 1678 (+6.3%)
Subaru Forester: 1414 (+105.8%)
GWM Haval H6: 805 (-9.8%)
BYD Atto 3: 702 (new vehicle)
Volkswagen Tiguan: 673 (+68.3%)
Honda CR-V: 373 (-52.2%)
GWM Haval H6 GT: 355 (-11.7%)
MG HS: 347 (-58.9%)
Honda ZR-V: 341 (new vehicle)
Renault Koleos: 211 (-8.3%)
Ford Escape: 163 (-29.4%)
Cupra Formentor: 142 (-8.4)
Skoda Karoq: 125 (-12%)
Peugeot 3008: 51 (-17.7%)
SsangYong Korando: 38 (-9.5%)
Peugeot 5008: 15 (+87.5%)
Citroen C5 Aircross: 0 (0.0%)
Jeep Cherokee: 0 (-100%)

Best-selling SUVs – Medium above $60,000

Tesla Model Y: 3811 (-12.6%)
Lexus NX: 772 (+565.5%)
Mercedes-Benz GLC: 458 (+78.2%)
BMW X3: 452 (+33.7%)
Mazda CX-60: 354 (new vehicle)
Porsche Macan: 290 (+81.3%)
Audi Q5: 278 (+4.5%)
Volvo XC60: 178 (-33.6%)
Genesis GV70: 152 (+442.9%)
Mercedes-Benz GLC coupe: 119 (-2.5%)
Hyundai IONIQ 5: 76 (-45.7%)
Mercedes-Benz EQB: 71 (-13.4)
Mercedes-Benz GLB: 60 (-76.6%)
BMW X4: 59 (+51.3%)
Maserati Gracale: 43 (new vehicle)
Lexus RZ: 28 (new vehicle)
Mercedes-Benz EQC: 19 (+35.7%)
Cupra Ateca: 13 (-55.2%)
Alfa Romeo Stelvio: 10 (-61.5%)
Range Rover Evoque: 2 (-96%)
Land Rover Discovery Sport: 1 (-96.9%)
Peugeot 408: 0 (new vehicle)
Hyundai Nexo: 0 (0%)

Best-selling SUVs – Large below $70,000

Ford Everest: 1984 (+147.7%)
Toyota Prado: 1976 (+16.4%)
Subaru Outback: 1355 (+66.3%)
Toyota Kluger: 1203 (-156%)
Isuzu MU-X: 1047 (+17.1%)
Kia Sorento: 889 (-42.5%)
Hyundai Santa Fe: 587 (+60.4%)
Mazda CX-8: 436 (-29.2%)
Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace: 309 (-59.1%)
Toyota Fortuner: 273 (+12.3%)
LDV D90: 253 (+130%)
Mazda CX-9: 247 (-58.3%)
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport: 220 (-62.3%)
Hyundai Palisade: 195 (-28.6%)
SsangYong Rexton: 141 (+3.7%)
Skoda Kodiaq: 136 (-3.5%)
Jeep Wrangler: 104 (+7.2%)
Nissan Pathfinder: 76 (new model)
GWM Tank 300: 30 (new vehicle)
Volkswagen Passat Alltrack: 20 (+66.7%)
Mitsubishi Pajero: 0 (-100.0%)
GWM Haval H9: 0 (0)

Best-selling SUVs – Large above $70,000

Land Rover Defender: 501 (+475.9%)
Lexus RX: 286 (+217.8%)
BMW X5: 251 (-6.7%)
Kia EV6: 202 (+236.7%)
Range Rover Sport: 199 (+999%)
Audi Q7: 152 (+81%)
Jeep Grand Cherokee: 114 (-16.2%)
Mercedes-Benz GLE: 105 (-53.5%)
Porsche Cayenne Coupe: 104 (-116.7%)
Mazda CX-90: 101 (new model)
Volvo XC90: 86 (-48.8%)
BMW X6: 85 (+84.8%)
Porsche Cayenne: 80 (+86%)
Volkswagen Touareg: 60 (-48.7%)
Audi Q8: 41 (-2.4%)
Jaguar F-Pace: 38 (+40.7%)
Genesis GV80: 37 (+85%)
Range Rover Velar: 32 (+220%)
Mercedes-Benz GLE coupe: 30 (-54.5%)
Audi e-tron: 22 (+69.2%)
Maserati Levante: 3 (-93.6%)
Jaguar I-Pace: 0 (+100%)

Best-selling SUVs – Upper large below $120,000

Toyota LandCruiser: 1404 (+121.5%)
Nissan Patrol: 1208 (+152.2%)
Land Rover Discovery: 73 (+284.2%)

Best-selling SUVs – Upper large above $120,000

Range Rover: 77 (+413.3%)
Lexus LX: 76 (+999%)
BMW X7: 63 (+5.0%)
Mercedes-Benz G-Class: 45 (+221.4%)
Mercedes-Benz GLS: 38 (-56.3%)
BMW XM: 16 (new vehicle) / Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV: 16 (new vehicle)
Bentley Bentayga: 13 (+8.3%)
Lamborghini Urus: 10 (+42.9%)
Aston Martin DBX: 6 (-14.3%)
Rolls-Royce Cullinan: 2 (-60%)

In the ever-popular utes and pickup segments, the HiLux was the most popular overall, but the Ford Ranger crossed the line with the most sales in terms of 4×4 models only.

See below for the top 10 best-selling utes in Australia for September 2023, according to VFACTS, including 4×2 and 4×4 and the large above $100,000 segments combined:

Toyota HiLux: 5776
Ford Ranger: 5429
Isuzu D-Max: 2885
Mazda BT-50: 1232
Toyota LandCruiser 70: 1209
Mitsubishi Triton: 981
Nissan Navara: 880
Volkswagen Amarok: 799
LDV T60/T60 EV: 706
GWM Ute: 662

To recap the overall figures, September 2023 was a record effort according to VFACTS figures, with a total of 110,702 new vehicle registrations, up from 109,966 in August this year. For the month, that figure is up 18.3 per cent and YTD the increase is 10.9 per cent.