Consumer demand for gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles (SUVs) remains healthy despite the pressure on budgets from rising interest rates and high petrol costs, helping the automotive classified website Carsales.com post sharply higher profits.

As households face a squeeze from inflation and rising interest rates, the business had expected to see signs of belt-tightening, such as a move away from SUVs, which are not only more expensive to buy than smaller cars, but generally more costly to run because they use more fuel.

However, a company spokeswoman said on Monday that the proportion of searches on the platform for SUVs held steady last financial year, while searches for sedans fell slightly and searches for hatches were broadly flat. Latest figures from July show the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and several other SUVs were among the most searched-for new and used cars on the Carsales.com platform.

The spokeswoman also said there had been minimal change in the price brackets customers were choosing in online their searches, despite the rising cost of living.

She said the share of searches targeting electric vehicles had fallen from 12.5 per cent in June 2022 to 5.7 per cent in June this year, though there remained strong demand for electric cars.

The trends came as Carsales.com said it continued to see “robust” demand for vehicles across its businesses, despite the cost of cars surging since the pandemic.

The company reported 13 per cent revenue growth in its Australian business, helped by “resilient” demand for used cars through dealers and expanding market share in the private sale market.

The cost of cars has surged about 40 per cent compared with before COVID-19, when the supply of cars was choked off by lockdown policies and parts shortages. In the company’s annual report, chief executive Cameron McIntyre and chairman Pat O’Sullivan said inventory levels had improved in the past year, and prices had stabilised since the second quarter of 2022.