Our take on the latest Car registrations (Wed 1 Oct 2025)
182,258
Total car registrations in the year to September, up 5.7%pa
New car registrations up 20%pa from September 2024
Used car registrations down 7.3%pa from September 2024
The key numbers...
- Annual car registrations rose in the September quarter to 182,258pa, up 5.7% from the year to September 2024.
- New car registrations rose 8.8% from the June 2025 quarter, with June’s 3.1% quarterly decline appearing to be a blip in the upward trend that has presided since June 2024 (all figures seasonally adjusted). New car registrations for the latest quarter were 20% higher than the same quarter a year ago.
- Used car registrations rose 4.7% in September from the June quarter, increasing for the first time since December 2023, a quarterly rise that was caused by the distortionary effects of changes to the clean car discount scheme. Quarterly used car registrations remain weak despite the rise from the June 2025 quarter, as used registrations were 7.3% lower than the same quarter a year ago.
- Full battery electric vehicles pulled back a touch in the September 2025 quarter, with the annual total at 8,849pa. Non-plug-in hybrid electric vehicle registrations rose in the September quarter as the annual total of this engine type rose to its highest level in a year.
Annual total edges up driven by new cars
Annual running total, first-time car registrations by type
...and our reaction
- The annual total of registrations dipped below 180,000pa for the first time in over a decade in June 2025, but appears to have bounced off this low in the September quarter.
- Trends in new and used car registrations have diverged over the past 18 months. Weakness in demand for used cars and a recovery in new car registrations saw the annual total of new car registrations overtake used in May 2025 for the first time since late 2022/23 (and only the second time since 1994).
- Households continue to be cautious, with consumer confidence remaining patchy in September according to ANZ’s Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey. A bumper 50-point cut to the official cash rate by the Reserve Bank next week could instil some confidence in households as interest rates are set to head lower than previously anticipated, although the weak labour market will remain a concern for households and could restrict the spending recovery in the near-term.
- Business confidence has remained elevated over the past 12 months but has so far failed to spark significant investment. The cost of borrowing for fleet renewal will continue to improve as interest rates come down, but without a significant revival of household spending and demand, businesses could still find the conditions for investment difficult.
Latest updates
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Car registrations
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4x higher Full battery EV registrations than in March 2025
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Car registrations
Total car registrations slowly lifting from low
Mon 12 Jan 2026
Quarterly
183,099 Total car registrations in the year to December 2025, down 1.1%pa
Quarterly new car registrations up 6.7%paQuarterly used car registrations down 4.1%paCar registrations
Annual new car registrations overtake used
Tue 1 Jul 2025
Quarterly
179,643 Total car registrations in the year to June, down 5.1%pa
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