Dismal December as car sales decline

Any gains made in the first half of the year look like they will be eroded by a steady decline in new car sales since July. Like the rest...

Any gains made in the first half of the year look like they will be eroded by a steady decline in new car sales since July.

Like the rest of the world, the latest sales figures show Australians are reluctant to adopt electric vehicles, turning instead to hybrids and plug-in hybrids in our doubt.

Sales were down 11.6 per cent across the board in November, compared to the same period last year.

But the decline was even greater in the private sector where sales dropped more significantly by 16.6 per cent.

This follows falls of 14.2 per cent in October, 17.2 per cent in September and 15.9 per cent in August. 

This is a disturbing trend which illustrates how cost of living pressures are impacting households, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

Year on year sales are just holding their own, at 1,124,712 units compared to 1,118,236 at the same time last year -- up 0.6 per cent.

“From an historical perspective, the 2024 year-to-date result is strong,” FCAI's Tony Weber said.

“However, the market is starting to show a number of clear trends.

"The first half of 2024 recorded market growth of 8.7 per cent compared with 2023. Since July, we have seen the market decline by 8.2 per cent compared with 2023.

“The Private buyer segment continues to struggle with a decline of 16.6 per cent on November 2023.

"This follows falls of 14.2 per cent in October, 17.2 per cent in September and 15.9 per cent in August.

This is a disturbing trend which illustrates how cost of living pressures are impacting households, Weber said.

Consumer preference remains clear with SUVs and Light Commercial vehicles making up the top 10 new vehicles sold while Passenger vehicles fell to a monthly market share of just 13.7 per cent.

He added that November saw another disappointing result for the sale of electric vehicles, while Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid accounted for 16.9 per cent of November sales compared with 9.9 per cent last year.

“The Australian experience with EVs is similar to many major markets overseas such as Europe, New Zealand and the USA," he said.

"Car makers are responding to regulatory settings that mandate an increase in the number of zero-emission vehicles by introducing new products.

"However, consumers remain cautious about making the shift to pure EVs and instead are purchasing hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles.

“The industry will continue its part by introducing an increasing range of more affordable, low emission vehicles while working alongside governments to address challenges such as recharging infrastructure which is critical to building consumer confidence for the transition to low emission vehicles."

Toyota remains the clear market leader with sales of 20,562 during November, followed by Ford (8,720), Mazda (7,588), Kia (6,410) and Mitsubishi (6,205).

The Toyota RAV4 was Australia’s top-selling vehicle with sales of 5,526 followed by Ford Ranger (4,981), Toyota Prado (3,590), Toyota HiLux (3,572) and the MG ZS (2,794).

Breaking down these figures, sales in the Australian Capital Territory were down 18.1 per cent on November 2023 to 1333; NSW was down 12.2 per cent to 30,490; NT was down 21.1 per cent to 727; Qld decreased 12.1 per cent to 21,320; SA also decreased by 9.5 per cent to 6591; Tas had a decrease of 18.8 per cent to 1642; Vic decreased 9.8 per cent to 26,729 and Western Australia decreased by 12.2 to 10,259.

 

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