October 2025’s VFACTS data on new car registrations made for some interesting reading. According to the results, 99,588 cars were registered in Australia in October 2025, a modest 1.2 per cent increase on the same month in 2024.

The most notable development for the month was the growth of hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, making up 17.8 per cent of total sales and signalling a continued shift toward electrified powertrains. The Toyota HiLux was – once again – the best-selling vehicle in Australia with 4444 units registered, while Chinese-built vehicles increased their sales by 40 per cent and four Chinese brands now feature in the top 10 best-sellers.

A lot of that information is not big news to us, so how about more interesting results that will surprise car enthusiasts and new car buyers alike? Here are five that caught our eye:

Nissan Z: 136 sales YTD; Porsche 911: 585 sales YTD

Production version of Nissan 400Z two years away.
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The massive hype behind the Nissan Z hasn’t as yet resulted in strong sales, with only 136 sold in Australia to the end of October, 2025. Priced from $76,160 plus on-road costs, the Z should be selling better with its 298kW/475Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine and six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic transmission options.

Yet, sports car buyers clearly disagree because the Porsche 911 has sold more than four times the Z at 585 units over the same time period – a pretty amazing result considering the 911 range starts at $296,700 +ORC (and plus an endless options list that can push up the price considerably very quickly). Clearly, the Porsche badge means a lot in some circles.

Peugeot: 1168 sales YTD; Porsche: 4560 sales YTD

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More evidence of the weight of the Porsche badge is obvious with its 4560 sales result to the end of October, which is actually a 22.4 per cent decrease over 2024. Yet it’s still almost four times that of Peugeot, which is having a worse year than Porsche with just 1168 sales recorded for a 31.2 per cent decline compared with 2024. That’s despite offering new SUV products such as the 3008 and 5008, as well as a range of new hybrid cars like the 2008.

McLaren: 60 sales YTD; MG Cyberster: 47 sales YTD

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MG turned a new page in its product expansion when it launched the Cyberster electric roadster in late 2024, having moved past its cheap and cheerful image and into a more serious era. Unfortunately for the brand, however, buyers have largely ignored the Cyberster and only 47 of them have been sold so far this year.

McLaren has actually sold more cars in Australia so far this year at 60 units, which is surprising given than the least expensive McLaren product starts at $436,615 +ORC – or $336,715 more than the least expensive Cyberster available. The MG Cyberster was meant to re-write the rulebook on what an electrified sports car could do, but that hasn’t resulted just yet.

Peugeot 308: 79 sales YTD; Mazda3: 8763 sales YTD

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Peugeot returns to this list with the wonderful 308 small hatchback, which was recently upgraded with a new 1.2-litre turbo-petrol hybrid drivetrain. Yet, with just 79 registrations under its belt, the 308 is the worst-selling hatchback in the $45k+ segment – in fact, Honda sold eight times as many Civics in October 2025 alone.

One of the 308’s biggest competitors – and not even the segment-topping Toyota Corolla – the Mazda3, has sold 8763 units by comparison.

LDV Mifa 9: 3 sales YTD; Lexus LM: 209 sales YTD

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You may be surprised but on the topic of electrified MPVs is an interesting sales fact. So far in 2025, LDV has sold precisely three units of its minimum-$104,000 +ORC Mifa 9 electric MPV. Adding the non-EV Mifa sales to the mix brings the total to 169.

And yet the Lexus LM – a product that starts at almost $180,000 once on-road costs are included in the price – is currently sitting at 206 units moved for the same time period.