Large SUVs and utes continue to dominate Australia’s auto market, sales figures reveal as more motorists are hit the brakes on new purchases.
Sales of new vehicles fell for a third consecutive month in October with the steepest drop among private buyers, according to Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries data released on Wednesday.
But the popularity of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles continued to climb, and electric vehicle sales remained steady for most brands.
One electric vehicle claimed a first during the month, with the recently discounted MG4 hatchback outpacing sales of Tesla’s SUV.
Australians bought 98,375 new vehicles in October, according to the industry group's figures, with purchases falling by more than 8400 compared with October 2023.
While sales fell by 7.9 per cent across the board, individual consumers were even more reticent to buy a vehicle, the chamber's chief executive Tony Weber said.
“We remain concerned about the continuing performance of the private buyers segment, which was down 14.2 per cent this month,” he said.
“This does indicate that economic pressures are a concern for families across the country.”
New vehicle sales fell the most in Tasmania (20.1 per cent), the ACT (16.4 per cent) and Victoria (14.4 per cent), while the Northern Territory and Western Australia both bucked the trend.
Hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales also grew during October, with the latter more than doubling their 2023 sales to reach 2407 purchases.
Their popularity could receive another boost in the coming months from more hybrid models, Mr Weber said, including large hybrid SUVs and utes, which were still the most popular choices for Australian drivers.
“We are now witnessing the introduction of new plug-in hybrid models in the SUV and light commercial segments which have previously been dominated by petrol and diesel models,” he said.
“It will be interesting to see how this translates to an increase in sales momentum in the run up to the end of the year.”
SUVs represented more than half of all new vehicles sold in October, the data revealed, while light commercial vehicles made up more than one in five vehicles.
Both styles also dominated the month’s best-selling cars, topped by the Toyota RAV4 SUV and followed by Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux utes.
Battery electric car sales remained steady during the month with more than 6400 Australians investing in the technology, making up 6.4 per cent of sales according to figures from the chamber and Electric Vehicle Council.
But in a surprise move MG’s hatchback, the MG4, became the first electric vehicle to outsell one of Tesla’s models during the month.
The small electric vehicle, which became Australia’s cheapest EV after a temporary price cut, almost doubled its sales to 1486 during October, outpacing Tesla’s Model Y with 1042.
