VFACTS October 2023: New-car delivery records smashed, Ford Ranger closes in on Toyota HiLux

New-car sales data reported by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) for October 2023 shows Australians have taken delivery of more than one million vehicles so far this year – smashing previous records.

As automakers continued to play catch-up with outstanding customer orders, the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger remain in a close battle for the top rung, with the Ranger taking the top spot this month over the HiLux – with 6215 and 5766 deliveries respectively.

However, year-to-date, the Toyota HiLux holds a lead of 779 over the new-generation Ford Ranger, with 50,067 examples of the HiLux reported as sold so far in 2023 compared to a tally of 49,288 for the Ford Ranger ute.

While the HiLux remains in front for now, the gap is closing, with Toyota's lead of 1200 sales over the Ranger reducing by 35 per cent in one month.

Expect to see discounts and incentives in the coming months as Ford pushes hard to overtake its rival, which has held the top sales spot for the past seven years in a row.

The Isuzu D-Max has slotted itself into third position – believed to be its highest ranking – recording 3198 sales, which is slightly down on its all-time monthly record of 3281 set in August 2023.

Despite being the top-selling passenger car last month, the Tesla Model Y has dropped from third place to 37th, with just 810 deliveries recorded in October compared to 3811 in the month prior. This is understood to be a reflection of shipping schedules, rather than a sudden drop in orders.

The Tesla Model 3 dropped to 21st position with 1178 deliveries reported last month. A facelifted model is expected in the coming months.

While numbers across the board remain strong, car manufacturers are working hard to clear bottlenecks throughout the year.

In total, 102,556 passenger vehicles, SUVs, and light commercial vehicles were reported as sold in October 2023 – compared to 105,680 last month (excluding heavy commercial vehicles).

Toyota continues to lead the market overall, with 20,298 deliveries in October – though the Japanese car giant is down almost 10 per cent year-to-date compared with the same point in 2022.

Mazda is sitting in second place with 9316 new cars delivered last month, followed by Ford (8605), Hyundai (6620), and Mitsubishi (6395).

Data supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), and compiled by Ben Zachariah.