The latest VFACTS figures on Australia’s new vehicle market have revealed it remained in rude health in September, with a total of 108,778 sales representing a 1.8 per cent increase on the numbers from the same month last year. Ford’s Ranger is one of the biggest winners as it regained the title of the most popular vehicle down under in a major turnaround.

Toyota remains top of the manufacturers table with 17,682 sales and 17.2 per cent market share, with BYD closing the gap in second with 8191. Ford (third), Kia (fourth) and Mazda (fifth) all recording drops compared to their September 2025 sales. Tesla is sixth after shifting 5654 vehicles during the month.

5

Adding Tesla and Polestar’s figures to the VFACTS numbers reveals that the EV percentage of the total Aussie new-car market is approximately 24.2 per cent, which is slightly down from the 24.9 per cent mark recorded in August, when BEVs outsold petrol and diesel vehicles for the first time ever.

That is once again the case with the latest results, which also show 49.8 per cent of all new vehicles sold in September were electrified. Hybrids accounted for 17,843 sales, with 10,072 plug-in hybrids bought once the VFACTS figures are combined with data from the Electric Vehicle Council.

EV sales were up by a startling 117.7 per cent year on year, whereas petrol vehicles declined by 36.2 per cent, and diesels dropped by 18.4 per cent. It’s early days but this could represent a fork in the road for the Aussie car market.

Chinese carmakers are once again strongly represented in the top 10 manufacturers, with GWM in seventh, MG in ninth and Geely in 10th, just ahead of Chery in 11th spot. The top 10 rankings are the same when it comes to the total sales numbers for 2026 so far.

Ford’s Ranger became the most popular vehicle in the country with sales of 5062 in September, up from 4867 in the same month last year. The Ranger topped the VFACTS monthly sales charts in January, February and March this year, but hadn’t been No.1 since. It dropped to fifth in August with 2440 deliveries, and was fourth in July with 4042 sales. Those August figures were skewed by the halting of deliveries due to an airbag issue that forced a recall, however.

Silver SUV in motion on a suburban street, front angled view with blurred green trees in the background, license plate DYF 711 visible
6

The Toyota RAV4 is the second-most popular new vehicle on 4624, then it’s the Tesla Model Y with 4476 deliveries, Toyota’s HiLux on 4455 and the BYD Sealion 7 on 2687. Following them are the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (2059), GWM Haval Jolion (2018), Geely EX5 (2008), Toyota Prado (2006) and Isuzu D-Max (1866).

BYD is still a fair way off Toyota for the title of best-selling manufacturer, but this is the sixth straight month the Chinese brand has locked up second spot and it recorded an increase, whereas Toyota fell as its HiLux suffered a drop of almost 12 per cent year on year.

Of the top 10 best-selling vehicles, three are electric: the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7 and Geely’s EX5. Compared to this time last year, sales are down in NSW by 0.8 per cent, with the NT recording a fall of 13.3 per cent, with Western Australia down by 1.6 per cent and South Australia by 0.3 per cent.

Light commercial sales suffered a 13.2 per cent decline compared to September 2025, but that was offset by a 6.3 per cent rise in the number of passenger vehicles sold, and a 6.1 per cent jump in sales of SUVs.

“The changes seen throughout this year are continuing. many consumers are making practical decisions and selecting from the range of available technologies that best meet their needs,” said Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries acting CEO Dianne O’Hara.