Hyundai i30 sets sales benchmark

South Korean hatch takes out monthly sales gong as Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi each record strong lifts.

Drive Team

22:4504 October 2015

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Hyundai i30 sets sales benchmark

The Hyundai i30 has been crowned Australia's best-selling car for the second time in four months.

Provisional figures obtained by Drive and due to be confirmed on Monday show the South Korean hatch was the best selling vehicle in Australia during the month of September, following up from top honours in June. Hyundai registered 4490 i30s to finish ahead of the Mazda3 (3588), Toyota Corolla (3530) and Toyota Camry (2522), as the overall market surged 3.6 per cent on the same period last year.

With only three months of the year remaining, the industry is in line for a new sales record. As it stands, the total year-to-date tally is at 862,832 vehicles – up 1.51 per cent on the record mark set in 2013.

Driving the increase was continued demand for Toyota vehicles. The Japanese car maker was comfortably the best selling marque in September thanks to three of its vehicles inside the top 10, and both the Prado and RAV4 within the top 15. The Corolla remains the best selling car overall in 2015, with 31,903 sales.

The growth in September defied a slowing economy and the continued fallout of Volkswagen's deepening emissions scandal, which brought no immediate impact on local sales. Instead, Volkswagen finished 14.7 per cent ahead for the month compared with the same period last year. Skoda's monthly sales were also up 38 per cent, from 330 in 2014 to 458, while Audi finished ahead by 25.7 per cent despite both brands being embroiled in the global saga.

Sales darlings such as the Ford Ranger (2471) and the Holden Commodore (2348) were present among the top selling cars in the land, but the Toyota HiLux (2004) was noticeably absent from the top five as stock of the superseded model dried up and discerning buyers held off for the release of the new model.

Luxury marques Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus and Land Rover each enjoyed a growth in sales. Of note, Mercedes-Benz sales are up 20.8 per cent year-to-date, as the German brand narrows in on the top 10 marques overall.

Much of that growth stems from continued demand for high performance vehicles, with both Mercedes' AMG division and Porsche experiencing record growth.