New car sales on the rise, driven by 'stubbornly high' fuel prices, rental companies

More growth out of the new vehicle market, with September the strongest month of the year so far. 

Over 13 thousand new passenger vehicles were registered —up nearly 28% on a year ago— while total light vehicle registrations neared 25 thousand. 

Toyota led the market with over 3,000 sales, with BYD, Tesla, and MG, all sitting between 500 and 1000 new registrations. 

Motor Trade Association CEO Lee Marshall told Mike Hosking stubbornly high fuel prices are still driving many people's decisions. 

He says there are fairly large savings on the table when you compare a hybrid or electric car with one that costs $300 per 1000 kilometres to run. 

Sales are also driven by rental companies, who are boosting their stocks ahead of summer. 

Companies and rental businesses accounted for 68% of the total registrations. 

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