Global Car Production, Sales and Exports May 2021

Read our monthly update on global car production, new car sales in key markets, export levels and imports into Australia.

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Global Car Production

• The global chip shortage may have peaked according to analysts
• Hyundai turns to local firms in South Korea for chips
• In the UK, manufacturers are bringing forward plans to roll out agency sales models to their dealer networks
• Fixed-price agency models may lead to higher new car prices
• Agency model could free-up car dealers to pursue used car growth
• According to the new UK-Australia free trade deal, UK car makers will see “tariffs of up to 5% cut, boosting demand for their exports” to Australia

• Globally, production is beginning to pick up pace in major manufacturing bases
• Japan is down 18% through March 2021
• South Korea is down 8% through April 2021
• The US is down 19% through May 2021
• Germany is down 18% through May 2021
• The UK is down 25% through April 2021
• China is up 8% through April 2021

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New Car Sales

• A year on from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, new car sales look to be picking up pace in several markets around the world
• Our data that looks at a 12 month rolling change illustrates this
• In North America, the US is up 5.2% while Mexico is down 17.8% through May 2021. Canada is only down 0.8% through April 2021
• In Europe, Germany is down 7.9% through April 2021
• The UK is now down 8.9% and seeing strong growth as travel restrictions look to be eased
• Spain is down 12.9% in April 2021 and looks to be on the recovery after COVID outbreaks slowed sales earlier in the year
• France and Italy are now up 1.3% and 5.4% respectively through April 2021
• In the Asia Pacific region, nations have generally fared better
• Australia and New Zealand are both up 8.7% and 8.8% through May 2021
• Japan is up 1.8% through May 2021 while South Korea continues to perform well, up 7.1% through April

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Car Imports into Australia

• Car Imports increased again in April 2021, recording a figure of $4.084 billion according to latest ABS figures
• This represents an increase of $1.45 billion (+55%) compared to April 2020
• The rolling 12 month change shows imports are now up $0.8 billion in April 2021
• Stock supply entering Australia is picking up pace after months of significant volatility
• Greater stock availability helped new car sales increase 68% in May 2021, see our latest VFACTS report for insights

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International Car Exports

The latest government figures show the following 12 month rolling changes in car export volume from the large car manufacturing nations:

• South Korea is down 8% through April 2021
• Japan is down 15% through April 2021
• The United Kingdom is down 16% through April 2021
• Germany is up 3% through May 2021
• The United States is down 24% through March 2021

Indications from May figures suggest car production and export levels are picking up pace to return back to pre-COVID levels.

Despite the challenges facing the industry, including chip shortages and shipping delays, demand is proving strong worldwide spurring manufacturers to ramp up production.

Imports into Australia have largely recovered from COVID, however the majority of sales currently are being diverted to private buyers.

With strong demand from businesses and corporations to re-stock their fleets, new car sales in Australia are likely to be strong over the coming year.

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By Tanim Ahmed, Head of Product at Datium Insights

Tanim is a Macquarie University alumni with degrees in Finance and Economics. He has spent a decade in the Leasing and Finance industry, specializing in Residual Value risk.

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