New vehicle registrations hit new record in January

Toyota remains the market leader with the highest number of new vehicle registrations. Photo / 123RF

New vehicle registrations hit an all time high in January, sitting close to 15,000.

In the month of January a total of 14,834 new cars were registered, up more than 7 per cent on the same month a year earlier.

Passenger and SUV registrations were up 6.4 per cent totalling 10,797, while commercial vehicle registrations surpassed 4000, up 9.9 per cent.

Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford said the number of new registrations for January continued the uphill trend seen over the last five years.

"As 2018 gets underway, nothing has changed with the economic environment that existed for most of the last 24 months," Crawford said. "The key drivers of new vehicle sales remain the continued elevated levels of net immigration, low costs of debt, a strong national economy and a stable government."

Toyota remains the market leader with the highest number of new vehicle registrations - 3270, followed by Ford with 11 per cent of market share and Mazda with 8 per cent market share.

On the commercial vehicle front, Ford remained the holder of the biggest market share, tailed at a total of 808 new vehicle registrations, in front of Toyota with 780 and Holden with 385.

The Toyota Corolla topped the table as the vehicle model with most new registrations followed by the Ford Ranger. There were 958 new Toyota Corollas registered in January and 713 Ford Rangers.