The total number of new motor vehicle sales in Australia climbed a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent in December compared to the previous month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - coming in at 97,014.
The headline figure follows the 0.7 percent decline in November.
By category, sales of other vehicles were up 4.0 percent, followed by sales of sports utility vehicles (1.9 percent) and passenger vehicles (0.7 percent).
Five of the eight states and territories saw an increase in new motor vehicle sales in December. Western Australia had the largest percentage increase (5.2 percent) followed by Queensland (4.2 percent) and the Australian Capital Territory (2.5 percent).
Over the same period, sales in South Australia lost 3.4 percent.
On a yearly basis, new motor vehicle sales added 0.1 percent after shedding 3.1 percent in the previous month.
By region, sales surged 14.7 percent on year in Tasmania and 2.2 percent in the Australian Capital Territory.
Sales were down 9.0 percent on year in Western Australia and 4.4 percent in South Australia.
Also on Wednesday, the ABS said that the total value of owner occupied housing loans excluding alterations and additions rose a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent in November.
The value of total personal finance commitments was up 0.6 percent, while fixed lending loans gained 1.2 percent and revolving credit commitments eased 0.1 percent.
The value of total commercial finance loans spiked 8.3 percent after losing 4.1 percent in October.
Revolving credit loans climbed 4.8 percent, after a fall of 11.5 percent in the previous month. Fixed lending loans surged 9.4 percent after shedding 1.6 percent in October.
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