Mazda3 back on top in September

The fight to be known as Australia's favourite car is shaping up for a photo finish.

The new Mazda3 clawed back ground to become the most popular car in September, ahead of its arch rival in the Toyota Corolla.

Just 23 units separate the pair for the year to date, with the Corolla hanging onto a narrow lead.

Australian new car sales bounced back in September, having dipped in the wake of June's strong end of financial year sales.

The industry registered 95,978 new models in September, well up from the 88,157 cars delivered in August.

Every state and territory but for the ACT saw a spike in sales from August to September in a market that is around 2.5 per cent ahead of the same month last year.

But new vehicle sales for the year remain around 18,000 units behind last year's margins, a gap that is unlikely to be closed in the last three months of the year.

Sales of micro cars such as the Suzuki Alto dropped from 1745 units in August to 1056 in September, while city cars such as the Toyota Yaris remained stable at around 9300 units.

Small car sales were similarly stable, led by the Mazda3, and Holden's Commodore had a decent month in the large category on the back of drive-away deals.

Hyundai's ix35 led small SUV sales that jumped by more than 1000 units month to month, while Mazda's CX-5 remains the most popular medium SUV.

Toyota's HiLux was the most popular ute, followed by the Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton.

Top 10 car sales for September:

1 - Mazda3 – 4014

2 - Toyota Corolla – 3893

3 - Toyota HiLux - 3430

4 - Holden Commodore - 2616

5 - Hyundai i30 – 2539

6 - Ford Ranger – 2446

7 - Toyota Camry – 2173

8 - Mazda CX-5 - 2093

9 - Mitsubishi Triton – 2029

10 - Hyundai ix35 - 1802

Top 10 manufacturer sales for September:

1 - Toyota – 17880

2 - Mazda – 9500

3 - Holden – 8551

4 - Hyundai – 8804

5 - Ford – 6227

6 - Mitsubishi – 6066

7 - Nissan – 5484

8 - Volkswagen – 4667

9 - Subaru – 3204

10 - Jeep – 2937