Ford’s premier ute, the Ranger, outsold the Toyota HiLux across October, marking the first time since December 2021 that the Ranger was at the top of the sales charts and, crucially, the HiLux wasn’t the best-selling model in Australia.

Although well short of the numbers seen in August and September (95,256 and 93,555, respectively), last month’s total of 87,299 eclipsed the same period in 2021 by 16.9% (74,650 sales in October last year).

Part of its improvement can be attributed to the easing of the stock shortages which have plagued the Australian market throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, giving much-needed relief to car buyers.

October’s result means that 2022’s year-to-date (YTD) total inched clear of the figures at the same stage of 2021 (898,429 compared to 890,790) after lagging behind for much of the year, but an increase of only 0.9% shows plenty is still needed to boost growth.

SUVs saw a significant spike in sales of 37.1% (48,463 total) compared to last year, which boosted its market share to 55.5%, while light commercial vehicles also saw a comparative 10.9% increase (21,447 total).

Passenger vehicles recorded their lowest total all year (13,321), representing a 16.5% decrease compared to last year and seeing their market share slide to just 15.3% for the month.

Heavy commercial vehicles again saw minor growth, with 4,068 units sold taking it 1.4% ahead of its figures last year, and electrified vehicles accounted for 10.8% of October’s sales.

Notably, sales across all states and territories were up by at least 10% across the month, with Tasmania (25.1%), Victoria (24.5%) and Western Australia (22.5%) seeing the largest proportional rise.

Market sales: October 2022

Vehicle sales by state or territory: October 2022

Vehicle brands: October

Although it failed to hold onto top spot in the best-selling model ranks, Toyota was able to comfort itself with a commanding October performance overall, selling 18,259 vehicles to improve on its 2021 numbers by 18.6%.

The result meant that the Japanese heavy hitter finished the month on 194,669 vehicles sold this YTD, pushing it 1.3% clear of its total at the same point last year and exactly 115,000 units ahead of the second-most popular brand in Australia so far in 2022, Mazda.

However, Ford registering 7,823 sales in October (+43.2%) meant that it finished second overall, representing the first time since September 1999 that the American manufacturer outsold the non-Toyota competition.

Kia rounded out the podium finishers with 6,380 (+31.5%), followed by Mitsubishi with 5,982 (+42.3%). Mazda surprisingly fell to fifth with 5,775 (+11.5%), while Hyundai failed to make the top five altogether for a second straight month with 5,289 (-13.5%).

MG’s 5,031 was its best month in Australia, enjoying a boost of 60.4% on last year’s figures, while GWM sneaked into tenth overall with a strong 2,462 sales (+45.5%).

The top ten saw some notable shifts between September’s sales and October’s, with Subaru slipping to 11^th and Tesla, who has performed strongly in recent months, plummeting from seventh all the way to 19^th with just 1,109 sales throughout the month.

Despite an underwhelming month overall, Mazda maintained its comfortable standing in second place in YTD sales with 79,669 (-10.2%), while Kia overtook Mitsubishi to snatch third place by just 75 units (66,580 compared to 66,505).

The rest of the top ten YTD sellers remained the same at the end of October.

Best-selling vehicle brands: October 2022

Best-selling vehicle brands: year-to-date 2022

Vehicle models: October

As mentioned, the Ford Ranger ascended to the top of the tree once more, with its 5,628 units sold (+36.1%) putting it comfortably clear of the Toyota HiLux, which finished on 4,884 for October (+23.3%).

However, Toyota’s RAV4 improved on its eighth-place performance last month to rise to third overall with 3,222 sales, representing a massive 92.9% boost compared with the same period last year.

The Mazda CX-5 finished fourth for the second successive month at 2,352 vehicles sold (and a massive 237.4% ahead of its performance last October), while it was a big month for the MG ZS, which rocketed from outside the top ten last month into fifth with 2,293 (+103.5%).

Meanwhile, the Tesla Model Y was the most significant slider, falling from third in September to 17^th in October with just 1,076 vehicles sold, which is down substantially from the 4,359 purchases made in September.

The Mitsubishi Triton slid from fifth to tenth with 1,679 (+182.2%) and, alongside the Outlander (1,619, +148.3%), was outsold by the ASX, which moved up to ninth with 1,734 units sold (+18.4%).

The HiLux remains well in front of the chasing pack in YTD sales, however, with its 54,680 units sold to this point already exceeding the total number of models purchased throughout 2021.

The total Ranger sales this year are still behind those of 2021, although the gap was cut down from 14.5% at the end of September to 9.5% by the end of last month.

Despite not appearing in the top ten for the month, the Corolla and Prado models also hold their places inside the best-seller list so far this year.

Best-selling vehicle models: October 2022

Best-selling vehicle models: year-to-date 2022