New data from the Motor Industry Association (MIA) shows that new car registrations in September 2023 remain on the low side, following a record month in July.
Last month saw the registration of 10,909 new vehicles which is not only 26.7 per cent lower than September 2022, but also 12.4 per cent lower than the monthly average for 2023.
“September’s result is likely caused by both tougher economic conditions and continued uncertainty for the future of the Clean Car Discount, currently hinging upon the upcoming election result,” says MIA.
“Such uncertainty considerably impacted consumer demand in September. It comes as no surprise that product-attracting rebates accelerated significantly, whilst demand for product-attracting fees slumped.”
The top three new models registered last month were the Tesla Model Y (697 units), Toyota RAV4 (683 units), and the Ford Ranger (605 units).
Toyota led the way for September with a 24.2 per cent market share after 2644 of its new vehicles were registered, with Ford coming in second at 10.3 per cent, and Mitsubishi at 9.2 per cent.
MIA notes that there was a significant shift towards electrification last month, with fully electric registrations reaching 2029 units. The most popular EVs were the Tesla Model Y (697 units), MG 4 (250 units), and the BYD Atto 3 (136 units).
As for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), a total of 768 new vehicles were registered, with the top three models being the Mitsubishi Outlander (220 units), Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (157 units), and the Mini Countryman (69 units).
Hybrids took the top spot when it comes to electrified vehicles with 2190 new units registered. The top three models consisted of the Toyota RAV4 (495 units), Toyota Corolla (269 units), and the Ford Escape (154 units).
The most popular vehicle segment in September 2023 was medium-sized SUVs with a 28.9 per cent share of the new car market, followed by compact SUVs with 18.9 per cent, and small vehicles with 7.9 per cent.
