Figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show that a record total of 92,081 cars, trucks and buses were sold last month – an increase of 8,784 or 10.5 per cent on November 2006.

The VFACTS figures (as the records are known) show a continuation of the upward trend seen throughout the year.

Total sales are now 963,732 for the year-to-date – up 78,129 or 8.8 per cent on the same period last year.

"The market appears to have been unfazed by the November interest rate rise. In addition, the timing of the Federal election also had little or no impact on buying intentions," said the FCAI’s Chief Executive Andrew McKellar."

"In historical terms, motor vehicles are very affordable and intense price competition between brands is only making them more so."

The continued strength of the Australian dollar is under-pinning the competitiveness of many models and consumers are responding to the improved value for money that is on offer.

Mr McKellar said that the relative affordability and value for money of many new cars appears to explain why the car market has been largely unaffected by interest rate rises.

"The underlying strength of motor vehicle sales is quite clear," he said, "and it appears that fleet buyers and private buyers remain convinced that now is a good time to buy a new vehicle."

Earlier in the year the FCAI amended their forecast upwards, indicating that total vehicle sales of one million units was expected for 2007.

Mr McKellar said it is now clear that this forecast will be comfortably exceeded.

The previous record of 988,269 motor vehicle sales was set in 2005.

Market growth has been widespread, with almost every segment and category contributing.

The main contributors to additional sales volume in November were the 'small' car segment, which was up 1,605 or 9.0 per cent, 'light cars' (up 1,555 or 15.4 per cent), the 'SUV medium' segment (up 1,401 or 26.3 per cent), 'utility/cab-chassis 4x2' (up 1,654 or 30.5 per cent) and 'utility/cab-chassis 4x4' (up 1,245 or 21.6 per cent).

New model activity has helped grow the total SUV market by 15.6 per cent during the year.

Rising fuel prices don’t appear to have had much impact on the SUV market, with sales volumes of larger SUVs growing just as fast as the smaller ones, said Andrew McKellar.

Many consumers continue to show a preference for the extra space and versatility these vehicles provide.

Year-to-date figures reveal Suzuki is strong, with sales improving by 37.7%. Volkswagen continue to build their sales, showing an excellent 26.8% improvement. Mitsubishi is amongst the winners again, with a 22.3% improvement. Nissan is up 13%.

The brand to watch next year will be Skoda. The Czech brand, owned by Volkswagen, is settling into Australia with the release of the Roomster and Octavia. The company continues to expand around the world, as its reputation continues to gain strength.

Amongst the prestige brands, Audi has surpassed Lexus in November sales (648 Audi vs. 600 Lexus), as predicted by our Editor, Stephen Walker. Mercedes-Benz continues to easily lead the prestigious brands, with 18,297 units sold YTD, reflecting a YTD improvement of 10.2%. Saab sales are up 15.4% (YTD) reflecting the popularity of the Swedish brand.

Amongst the sorry stories of 2007 is Jaguar. The Ford owned British brand is struggling in Australia, as sales are down by 18.5% YTD, with just 744 units sold locally YTD.