A total of 93,555 vehicles were sold in September, which represents a rise of 12.3 per cent on the same month in 2021.
The September figures, released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), brings the the total number of vehicles sold this year-to-date to 811,130.
Tony Weber, Chief Executive of FCAI, said the growing number of battery EVs sold in September (7,247) signalled that a growing number of Australians were committed to decarbonising their transport choices.
“Year to date, 21,771 battery electric vehicles have been sold. While the overall market share of battery electric vehicles remains low (2.7 per cent), there is a clear market trend towards zero emission technology.”
Leading the sales was Toyota with a total of 14,852 vehicles sold, with their most popular model being the Toyota Hi-Lux, selling 5,170. Rounding out the top five manufacturers was Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Ford.
Weber said that car makers are encouraged by the Federal Government’s call for submissions on its recently released Electric Vehicle Discussion Paper.
“Australia’s pathway to decarbonising light transport is complex and requires an holistic policy framework. This paper addresses many of the issues that will need to be resolved.
“Any future policy and regulation needs to be developed within the context of vehicle price, model availability, and battery supply, and supported through the roll out of charging infrastructure and consumer incentives. The policy objective is to lower emissions, and we look forward to offering practical guidance to Government on how to navigate this pathway.”
The largest supplier of vehicles to the Australian market was Japan (23,880), Thailand (20,363), and China (14,889), but Weber cautioned that while supplies of new cars are showing signs of improvement, logistical and supply chain issues remained problematic as the global automotive market recovers from the Covid pandemic.
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