Toyota’s Corolla and HiLux have greeted the onset of spring with their fourth “quinella” in the past six months as the two best-selling cars in Australia.

The two highly regarded Toyota nameplates lived up to their reputation as customer favourites by claiming first and second sales positions in September following similar one-two results in April, May and June.

Last month, Corolla was first past the post as the nation’s best-selling car, winning in a photo finish from its stablemate HiLux (3,443 sales to 3,341).

It was Corolla’s third victory this year and extended its position as the front-runner on the national sales chart in 2013, which it has led since May.

Other Toyota vehicles to head their segments in September were locally built Camry as well as the fully imported 86, LandCruiser 200 Series, HiAce van and HiAce bus.

Toyota’s September sales tally of almost 17,500 units was 1.1 per cent higher than September last year.

The company’s total for the nine months to September 30 has grown to 158,793 new-vehicle registrations – 93.9% per cent or almost 76,900 sales higher than its nearest rival.

As a result, Toyota is now odds-on to achieve its 11th consecutive year as the best-selling automotive brand in Australia.

Executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said vital orders, particularly from fleet customers, were starting to recover following the rejection of proposed changes to the fringe benefits tax on motor vehicles.

“Toyota welcomes the new federal government’s public confirmation it will not implement the amendments which had been proposed by its predecessor in the lead-up to the recent election,” Mr Cramb said.

“The new government’s announcement means the tax treatment of salary sacrifice, novated leases and company-owned vehicles remains unchanged from the system that has worked effectively for many years,” he said.

“The position is clear and the early signs are promising, although it is natural that it will take time for customers to regain their full confidence before resuming normal purchasing patterns.”

Source: Toyota