Read our monthly update on VFACTS new car sales results.
- Weekly Market Update 22nd April 2024
- Weekly Market Update 15th April 2024
- Weekly Market Update 8th April 2024
- Weekly Market Update 1st April 2024
New Car Sales April 2021
- April 2021 saw a total figure of 92,347 new car sales for Australia as reported by VFACTS
- Figures show new car sales increased by 137% in April 2021 versus April 2020, noting that April last year was the peak of the downturn
- With COVID-19 cases being limited, it appears new car sales are returning to pre-COVID norms
- All states saw strong increases in April 2021 compared to April 2020 with Northern Territory (+51%) and Western Australia (+45%) leading the way
- Victoria is still performing weaker, up 16,593 units (+22%)
New Car Sales Trends
The top 5 models with the greatest increases so far in 2021 are:
- Toyota Hilux 4X4 (+4,526 units)
- MG ZS (+4,293 units)
- Ford Ranger 4X4 (+3,971 units)
- Toyota Landcruiser Wagon (+3,563 units)
- Mazda CX-5 (+3,294 units)
The bottom 5 models with the greatest decreases so far in 2021 are:
- Volkswagen Golf (-3,381 units)
- Toyota Kluger (-2,326 units)
- Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class (-1,340 units)
- Honda Civic (-1,254 units)
- Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class (-993 units)
The top segment increases so far in 2021 compared to 2020 are:
- SUV Light (+132%)
- Micro (+102%)
- Large > $70K (+97%)
- Vans/CC 2.5-3.5t (+88%)
- SUV Upper Large < $100K (+80%)
Conversely, some of the largest decreases are:
- Light Buses => 20 Seats (-48%)
- Upper Large < $100K (-33%)
- Large < $70K (-20%)
- Medium < $60K (-17%)
- Upper Large > $100K (-16%)
Some other highlights so far:
- Toyota continues to dominate sales increases with 4 of the top 10 increases in 2021 being Toyota models
- Chinese brand MG is making headwinds, with its ZS and MG3 models seeing substantial increase in 2021
- Passenger vehicles continue to see the slowest recovery in sales in 2021 (+4%), particularly in small (-8%) and medium (-1%) segments
- The rental market has finally seen strong growth, up 6,534 units (+46%) compared to 2020
- Private sales (+43%) now make up more than 50% of all sales in the market due to dealers gaining higher margins on these types of sales
Sales by Import Country
- Sales of imported vehicles from Japan continue to rebound significantly in 2021, seeing an increase of 40,250 units compared to 2020
- Sales of imported vehicles from China continue to skyrocket in 2021 with an increase of 14,333 compared to 2020
- Sales of imported vehicles from Germany and USA saw the largest declines so far, with Germany down 5,093 units and USA down 2,680. These countries have been hit by production issues due to COVID outbreaks.
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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VFACTS: New Car Sales Insights May 2021
