Neither rising interest rates nor other cost-of-living pressures have diminished the national appetite for new cars, with industry figures for October revealing Australian customers have taken delivery of over one million new vehicles so far this year.

It’s the first time the magic million sales mark has been reached as early as October and comes on the back of a record-breaking run in which five of the last six months have set new sales records.

October sales figure of 106,809 new vehicles represents an increase of 19,510 or 22.3% against October 2022, pushing the year-to-date tally to 1,006,095 and setting the industry on course for record-breaking annual sales with two months to go.

FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said the Australian market has demonstrated incredible strength and vitality throughout 2023.

"After some challenging years through COVID, this milestone speaks to the range of vehicles available to consumers, affirming Australia's position as one of the world's most dynamic and competitive markets,” Mr Weber said.

“It also reflects vastly improved supply chains.”

Car buying made easy

The Ford Ranger ute was Australia’s top-selling vehicle in October, recording 6,215 sales to narrowly edge out its arch-rival the Toyota HiLux (5,766), followed by the Isuzu D-Max (3,198), Toyota RAV4 (2,598) and Toyota LandCruiser (2561).

While the Ranger won the month, the HiLux holds a narrow 779-unit year-to-date lead, so expect the two car makers to ramp up their sales and marketing efforts in the final two months of the year in a bid to claim the coveted best-selling vehicle crown.

Workhorse utes and large SUVs remain a national passion, with 38.3% of sales in October either in light commercial utes, or the large and upper large SUVs vehicle categories.

Conversely, EV sales softened for the first time in many months to represent 5.7% of the market, largely on the back of a softer month for the category-leading Tesla Model Y and Model 3, both of which had significantly fewer sales than in previous months.

The Model Y dropped from being the third best-selling model outright in September with 3,811 sales, to a leaner 810 sales in October, which saw it fall well out of the Top 10.

Sales across every state and territory increased this month compared with October 2022, with Queensland recording a 16.4% lift to record 21,937 sales.

Toyota was the highest-selling marque with 20,298 sales, followed by Mazda (9,316), then Ford (8,605), Hyundai (6,620) and Mitsubishi (6,395).