New vehicle sales in Australia grew 1.3 per cent in September to 102,696 units, keeping the market bubbling along at record pace with only a quarter of the year left.
Nine months into 2016, and a remarkable 887,076 new cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles have been counted as ‘sold’ by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. This is almost 3 per cent ahead of last year’s all-time record figure.
September 2016’s record figure, published today, shows that the familiar trend of SUVs and light commercials rapidly growing continues, with these two market segments up 7.0 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. Passenger car sales dropped around 9 per cent.
Of more relevance is the fact that it’s business, not private buyers (supposedly including novated leases) that are driving growth. Private sales were down 8 per cent to 48,171 units, compared to business sales being up 14 per cent to 41,543.
Top brands in September 2016Top of the pops as ever was Toyota, on 16,716 units (up under 1 per cent), following on from its mammoth August. But the real star was Mazda which, thanks to its annual ‘M Day’ sale, recorded 12,009 sales, growth of 10.5 per cent.
Third was Hyundai (9319, steady), ahead of Holden (8564, down 8 per cent), Ford (7280, up 25 per cent), Mitsubishi (6701, down around 3 per cent), Nissan (5177, down 1 per cent) and Volkswagen (4380, down 14.5 per cent).
Rounding out the top ten were Subaru (4050, up 12 per cent) and Honda (3783, up 5 per cent), while knocking on the door were Kia (3687, up 23 per cent), Mercedes-Benz (3565, up 5 per cent), BMW (2423, up less than 1 per cent) and Audi (2074, up 1 per cent).
Alphabetically, smaller-volume brands that performed well included Infiniti (100 units, up 82 per cent), Jaguar (323, up 90 per cent), LDV (121, up 73 per cent), Mini (359, up 18 per cent), Porsche (552, up 13 per cent) and Volvo Car (486, up 8 per cent).
Brands that went the other way included Alfa Romeo (52, down 67 per cent), Chrysler (33, down 55 per cent), Fiat (180, down 32 per cent), Jeep (932, down 57 per cent), Peugeot (206, down 8 per cent), Skoda (380, down 17 per cent) and SsangYong (24, down 60 per cent).
Biggish-volume companies that held roughly steady included Isuzu Ute (1992, down 2 per cent), Land Rover (1038, up 3 per cent) and Renault (1042, up 3.5 per cent).
It was a mixed bag for ultra-exclusive marques. Bentley (21 sales), Lamborghini (10), McLaren (5) and Rolls-Royce (4) all went up, while Ferrari (10) and Maserati (46) were down.
Top models in September 2016Leaping into top spot was the recently updated Mazda 3 with 3491 sales, though it still trails the Hyundai i30 and Toyota Corolla annually. The Mazda edged out the Corolla for the month, which was second on 3423. The Toyota HiLux was third with 3209.
Fourth was the HiLux’s great rival, the Ford Ranger, on 2903 (interestingly, the Ford outsold the Toyota in the lucrative 4×4 sector). Next was the i30 on 2741, ahead of the Mazda CX-5 on a staggering 2662, then the Holden Commodore on 2366.
Next were the Mitsubishi Triton on 2246, Hyundai Tucson on 2209, Hyundai Accent on 2189, Toyota Camry on 2008, Mazda CX-3 on 1878, Mitsubishi ASX on 1776, Holden Colorado on 1732 and the Toyota RAV4 in 15th spot on 1617.
The winners of every passenger segment were: Mitsubishi Mirage, Hyundai Accent, Mini, Mazda 3, Audi A3, Camry, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Holden Commodore, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 7 Series, Kia Carnival, Ford Mustang, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Porsche 911.
The leaders in each SUV and commercial segment were: Mazda CX-3, Mercedes-Benz GLA, Mazda CX-5, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Toyota Prado, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLS, Volkswagen Caddy, Toyota HiAce, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger.
Miscellaneous data from September 2016Sales-by-state sales were: NSW (34,424, up 1 per cent), Victoria (28,766, up 4 per cent), Queensland (19,702, down 3 per cent), Western Australia (8688, down 4 per cent), South Australia (6551, up 12 per cent), Tasmania (2074, down 1 per cent), ACT (1631, up 2 per cent) and the NT (880, up 12 per cent).
Strong segments were micro (up 20.4 per cent to 839), sports (up 36 per cent to 2725), medium SUV (up 22 per cent to 16,391), upper large SUV (up 39 per cent to 1349), light buses (up 39 per cent to 274), medium vans (up 38 per cent to 1694), 4×2 utes (up 19.5 per cent to 3534) and 4×4 utes (up 15 per cent to 12,347).
Struggler segments were light (down 11.5 per cent to 8284), small (down 13 per cent to 19,192), medium (down 10.5 per cent to 6160), upper large (down 52 per cent to 187) and large SUV (down 9 per cent to 11,976).
Our top sources of vehicles were: Japan (28,294), Thailand (25,654), Korea (14,595), Germany (7813), Australia (7659), USA (4364), England (3028), Spain (1572), South Africa (1117) and Hungary (1070).
The top-ten brands in passenger sales were: Toyota (6988), Hyundai (5952), Mazda (5467), Holden (4234), Ford (2670), Kia (2393), Volkswagen (2274), Honda (2015), Mercedes-Benz (2011) and Subaru (1297).
The top-ten brands in SUV sales were: Mazda (an amazing finish, with 5181), Toyota (5021), Mitsubishi (3768), Nissan (3467), Hyundai (2913), Subaru (2753), Holden (2242), Honda (1768), Ford (1435) and Kia (1294).
The rugged 4×4 sub-segment, because we always get asked: Holden Colorado 7 (712, on runout), Isuzu MU-X (592), Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (534), Ford Everest (294) and Toyota Fortuner (237).
Some just-launched models: Suzuki Baleno (243, 3 per cent market share), Honda Civic (996, up 170 per cent), Renault Koleos (197, up 260 per cent), Volkswagen Tiguan (807, up from 543) and Jaguar F-Pace (172, 6.5 per cent market share).
Top ten brands September 2016Toyota — 16,716 (up 0.7 per cent)
Mazda — 12,009 (up 10.5 per cent)
Hyundai — 9319 (steady)
Holden — 8564 (down 8 per cent)
Ford — 7280 (up 25 per cent)
Mitsubishi — 6701 (down 3 per cent)
Nissan — 5177 (down 1 per cent)
Volkswagen — 4380 (down 14.5 per cent)
Subaru — 4050 (up 12 per cent)
Honda — 3783 (up 5 per cent)
Top ten models September 2016Mazda 3 — 3491
Toyota Corolla — 3423
Toyota HiLux — 3209
Ford Ranger — 2903
Hyundai i30 — 2741
Mazda CX-5 — 2662
Holden Commodore — 2366
Mitsubishi Triton — 2246
Hyundai Tucson — 2209
Hyundai Accent — 2189
Micro (839, up 0.8 per cent):
Mitsubishi Mirage (313)
Kia Picanto (202)
Fiat 500/Abarth (126)
Light under $25k (7798, up 7.6 per cent):Hyundai Accent (2189)
Mazda 2 (1445)
Toyota Yaris (876)
Light over $25k (486, up 0.5 per cent):Mini hatch (239)
Audi A1 (172)
Mini Clubman (37)
Small under $40k (17,512, up 17.1 per cent):Mazda 3 (3491)
Toyota Corolla (3432)
Hyundai i30 (2741)
Small over $40k (1680, up 1.6 per cent):Audi A3 (547)
Mercedes-Benz A-Class (374)
BMW 1 Series (241)
Medium under $60k (4270, up 4.2 per cent):
Toyota Camry (2008)
Mazda 6 (383)
Subaru Liberty (316)
Medium over $60k (1890, up 1.8 per cent):Mercedes-Benz C-Class (539)
Mercedes-Benz CLA (333)
BMW 3 Series (273)
Large under $70k (3251, up 3.2 per cent):Holden Commodore (2366)
Ford Falcon (462)
Toyota Aurion (310)
Large over $70k (369, up 0.4 per cent):Mercedes-Benz E-Class (127)
Audi A6 (63)
BMW 5 Series (45)
Upper Large under $100k (127, up 0.1 per cent):Holden Caprice (94)
Chrysler 300 (33)
Upper Large above $100k (60, up 0.1 per cent):BMW 7 Series (27)
Mercedes-Benz S-Class (19)
Audi A8 (5)
People-movers under $60k (1017, up 1 per cent):Kia Carnival (423)
Honda Odyssey (209)
Toyota Tarago (100)
People-movers over $60k (52, up 0.1 per cent):Mercedes-Benz V-Class (28)
Mercedes-Benz Valente (24)
Sports under $80k (1874, up 1.8 per cent):Ford Mustang (786)
Hyundai Veloster (322)
BMW 2 Series Coupe/Conv (237)
Sports over $80k (672, up 0.7 per cent):Mercedes-Benz C-Class (268)
BMW 4 Series (115)
Audi TT (50)
Sports over $200k (179, up 0.2 per cent):Porsche 911 (72)
BMW 6 Series (17)
Mercedes-AMG GT (11)
SUV Small under $40k (8503, up 8.3 per cent):Mazda CX-3 (1878)
Mitsubishi ASX (1776)
Nissan Qashqai (1141)
SUV Small over $40k (1278, up 1.2 per cent):Mercedes-Benz GLA (477)
BMW X1 (375)
Audi Q3 (341)
SUV Medium under $60k (13,738, up 13.4 per cent):Mazda CX-5 (2662)
Hyundai Tucson (2209)
Toyota RAV4 (1617)
SUV Medium over $60k (2653, up 2.6 per cent):Land Rover Discover Sport (387)
Mercedes-Benz GLC (369)
BMW X3 (335)
SUV Large under $70k (10,224, up 10 per cent):Toyota Prado (1160)
Subaru Outback (1042)
Toyota Kluger (940)
SUV Large over $70k (1752, up 1.7 per cent):BMW X5 (310)
Range Rover Sport (253)
Mercedes-Benz GLE (174)
SUV Upper Large under $100k (1180, up 1.1 per cent):Toyota LandCruiser (903)
Nissan Patrol (277)
SUV Upper Large over $100k (169, up 0.2 per cent):Mercedes-Benz GLS (76)
Lexus LX (33)
Range Rover (30)
Light buses <= 20 seats (274, up 0.3 per cent):Toyota HiAce (237)
Renault Master (26)
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (6)
Light Vans (346, up 0.3 per cent):Volkswagen Caddy Van (129)
Renault Kangoo (117)
Suzuki APV (67)
Medium Vans (1694, up 1.6 per cent):Toyota HiAce (602)
Hyundai iLoad (454)
Volkswagen Transporter (199)
4×2 Utes (3534, up 3.4 per cent):Toyota HiLux (898)
Mazda BT-50 (549)
Ford Ranger (456)
4×4 Utes (12,347, up 12 per cent):Ford Ranger (2451))
Toyota HiLux (2311)
Mitsubishi Triton (2012)
Source: 
September 2016 VFACTS: New vehicle sales numbers, winners and losers detailed
