Australian customers took delivery of 124,926 new vehicles in June, a 25 per cent improvement on the same month last year, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said.

It was the best June result since 2018 and took demand for the first half of 2023 to 581,759, an 8.2 per cent improvement.

The increase appeared to defy recent cost-of-living pressures and surging interest rates, although a number of the cars delivered could have been ordered months ago.

Chamber chief executive Tony Weber said the continuing sales growth was encouraging, especially considering ongoing issues with securing stock.

“The end of the financial year has traditionally been a strong month for vehicle sales,” Mr Weber said.

“Indications from our members are that demand for new vehicles remains solid, but the supply is not yet at a point to meet this demand.

“To put it simply, if we could have landed more vehicles, this would have been a record June result.”

Sales of zero and low-emission vehicles continued to grow in June with battery electric, hybrid or plug-in hybrid models accounting for 16.6 per cent of the market.

Demand for battery electric vehicles finished at 8.8 per cent while Tesla delivered 5560 of its Model Y car, making it the second best seller behind the Toyota Hi-Lux with 6142.

In third place was the Ford Ranger on 5334 ahead of the MG ZS on 3756 and the Toyota RAV 4 on 2858.

“The early adopters of the new powertrain technology continue to push up the sales of electric vehicles across the country,” Mr Weber said.

“The steady introduction of new battery electric models across all model segments at more competitive price points is critically important as we deal with the challenges of supplying electric vehicles that meet business and personal consumer needs at prices the mainstream buyers can afford.”

Toyota was the market-leading company in June with 20,948 vehicles ahead of Mazda with 9706, Hyundai’s 8215, Ford on 7753 and Kia with 7551.