Read our monthly update on VFACTS results, new car sales trends, imports and exports.
- Weekly Market Update 15th April 2024
- Weekly Market Update 8th April 2024
- Weekly Market Update 1st April 2024
- Weekly Market Update 25th March 2024
New Car Sales November 2020
- November 2020 saw a total figure of 95,205 new car sales for Australia as reported by VFACTS
- Figures show new car sales have increased by 12% in November 2020 versus November 2019 – the first increase this year
- With COVID-19 cases being limited, it appears new car sales are returning to pre-COVID norms
- So far in 2020, the market has seen 157,312 (-16%) less new car sales compared to 2019
- Victoria has been the hardest hit, down 80,030 units (-29%) compared to 2019
- In total, the new car market in 2020 is down 16% compared to 2019, a strong rebound since it plummeted to -24% in May
New Car Sales Trends
So far this year there are only a handful of segments that have sold higher than last year, including:
- People Movers > $60k (+46%)
- SUV Upper Large > $100K (+29%)
- Light Buses => 20 Seats (+16%)
- Small > $40K (+14%)
- SUV Small > $40K (+10%)
Conversely, some of the largest decreases have been in:
- Large < $70K (-64%)
- Light < $25K (-43%)
- People Movers < $60K (-43%)
- Large > $70K (-25%)
- Sports > $80K (-39%)
- Small < $40K (-30%)
Some other highlights:
- Small to Medium SUV’s dominate the list of vehicles that have outperformed so far this year, with the Toyota RAV4, Kia Seltos and Mazda CX-30 leading the way
- Small vehicles have so far seen the largest declines with the Mazda 3, Hyundai Accent and Hyundai i30 falling considerably
- The rental market has shrunk considerably this year, with 37,789 less cars (-56%) selling so far this year to rental businesses
Car Imports
- Car Imports increased significantly in October 2020, recording a figure of $3.402 billion according to latest ABS figures
- This represents an increase of $66 million (+1.98%) compared to September 2019
- The cumulative total for 2020 shows imports are now down $5.7 billion compared to 2019
- Sales of imported vehicles continue to increase from China (+9,996 YoY) while European manufacturers are seemingly redistributing their production across the continent
- Sales of imported vehicles from the largest manufacturing countries including Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Germany continue to be down
- Stock supply entering Australia is significantly down which will affect new car sales activity for the coming months
International Car Exports
The latest government figures show the following changes in car export volume from the large car manufacturing nations:
- South Korea is down 18% so far through October 2020 compared to 2019
- Japan is down 26% so far through October 2020 compared to 2019
- The United Kingdom is down 32% so far through September 2020 compared to 2019
- Germany is down 33% so far through September 2020 compared to 2019
- The United States is down 33% so far through August 2020 compared to 2019
With car production and exports from international markets still significantly low, imports into Australia are likely to remain subdued for sometime.
New car sales in large international markets are also still low and with Australia further down the priority chain for car manufacturers, it’s likely that new car supply into Australia will struggle for the next few months.
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.
Please contact Datium Insights for further analytical support and advisory services.
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