Toyota has recorded its 60th consecutive month as the top-selling car company in Australia.

Official figures released today show the milestone was achieved in March when Toyota sold more than 20,000 vehicles - a margin of 8,500 units or 72 per cent over its nearest rival.

Consumers bought 20,306 Toyota cars, SUVs and trucks in March - an increase of 22.3 per cent over the same month last year.

Toyota's March result exceeded the combined totals of the second and third-placed car companies.

It propelled Toyota's first-quarter result to more than 51,000 sales - giving it an overall market lead of 18,000 vehicles so far in 2010.

Toyota is the only carmaker to sell 20,000 vehicles in a single month and 50,000 in any three-month period.

March included an all-time Toyota Prado record of 2087 deliveries, lifting Toyota's overall SUV sales almost 50 per cent over March 2009 to 5,659 - the company's best SUV month ever.

It was also a March record - and the fourth-best month on record - for Toyota's commercial-vehicle sales.

Toyota's HiLux set a record first quarter (10,213).

Toyota led eight segments with Yaris, Camry, Prado, LandCruiser 200 Series, Hilux 4x4, HiLux 4x2, HiAce van and HiAce bus.

Toyota Australia's senior executive director sales and marketing David Buttner said the March results and 60-month milestone, while significant, were not goals in themselves.

"Toyota and our dealers have always focused on being number one with each individual customer by doing our best to deliver the right vehicles and the right service at the right time," Mr Buttner said.

"We are constantly striving to improve everything we do - and we regard sales records as one measure of our success in meeting the requirements of our customers."

Mr Buttner said factors behind the industry's healthy March sales included the improving economy and competitive retail offers.

He said last year's investment allowance bonuses continued to contribute - perhaps by 5,000 or more sales across the industry in March alone.

"The underlying level of demand suggests the industry will achieve a full-year market in excess of 950,000 and probably quite a bit higher," Mr Buttner.

"At this stage, we continue to believe the market will return above the one-million mark in 2011, although it may come tantalisingly close this year."

April sales would be impacted by school holidays, the Easter break and the Anzac Day long weekend, with a return to stronger results in May and June.

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