Australian new vehicle sales topped 100,809 in May, a monthly record for 2021.
The Toyota HiLux was the highest selling vehicle (4402) for the month followed by the Ford Ranger (4254), Toyota RAV4 (4014), Toyota LandCruiser (3399) and the Isuzu Ute D-Max 3058).
Sales of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in May hit 53,605 followed by light commercials (23,177) and passenger vehicles (20,218).
Total sales are now on track to crack the one million mark this year with sales for the first five months sitting at 456,804.
May's sales of 100,809 just pipped the 100,005 achieved in March.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) said sales in May were a whopping 68.3 per cent higher than the same month last year when the country was in the grip of COVID lockdowns and economic uncertainty.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said the result again showed that confidence in the national economy and pent-up demand across all sectors were strong enough to counter issues related to the coronavirus pandemic and supply chain issues.
"While we cannot be certain about the future economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation, businesses and households are showing their confidence by purchasing new vehicles.
"I expect this situation will continue to improve in the second half of this calendar year as confidence continues to grow, coupled with incentives such as the extension of the depreciation allowance for business which was announced in the federal budget last month."
Mr Weber said the rental segment continued to grow with the year-to-date result up 69.4pc while private sales were up 50.3pc year-to-date.
"The result also highlights the outstanding efforts by all parties in the supply chain in continuing to meet the demands of their customers in the face of ongoing challenges such as the shortage of micro-processors and shipping delays," Mr Weber said.
Toyota was the market leader in May recording sales of 21,156.
It was followed by Mazda (10,554), Kia (7124), Ford (6493) and Mitsubishi (6478).