News & Views

April marked an important milestone for Australia, one year on from the main COVID outbreak of 2020. This allows for the comparison of a time of bleak outlook and uncertainty, with one where many economic indicators appear more in line with performance prior to the pandemic.

June is an odd month when it comes to new car sales, with fleets bringing forward spending to take advantage of EOFY tax incentives, and consumers out hunting for bargains. Well publicised stock shortages make things more complicated this year, with some manufacturers likely to lose sales because they can’t deliver vehicles for 3, 6, or even 9 months.

VFACTS have just published the May 2021 new car sales figures, and they make for some pretty astounding reading, with more than 100,000 new vehicles sold over the past 31 days. This is particularly true when we consider the fact that in many cases, these are orders that won't be completed for 3, 6, or even 9 months. Unpacking the results, here are five key themes that highlight the extent of the recovery we've seen over the past 12 months.

Australia ended 2020 with over 100,000 fewer new vehicle sales than the year before. While this is understandable given the impact of COVID-19, we feel that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Australian new car sales (as at Feb '21) have now risen for the fourth consecutive month, with the market recording a 5% YoY jump in February off the back of almost 85,000 new vehicles sold. Encouragingly, this growth is almost entirely driven by consumers (YoY sales up 16%), as they regain the confidence to start spending on big-ticket items.

The Australian economy is poised for recovery as we leave behind a traumatic 2020. The combination of an extended period without new community cases, and the start of the vaccine rollout have brought a note of optimism to the community, driving increased confidence among both consumers and businesses as we look to the year ahead.

As we move into the second half of the year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is starting to release more detail from its 2019 Motor Vehicle Census, letting us dig into the Australian car parc at a national, and state level.

Holden has been a key part of the Australian automotive industry since it launched the first all-Australian motor vehicle in the late 1940’s. The FX Holden was unveiled by Prime Minister Ben Chifley on the 29^th of November 1948, with 18,000 people paying a deposit without even having seen one in person.

Now that we’ve officially reached the end of 2017, it’s time to reflect back on the year that was. While a key global theme was electrification, what happened in the local market? As we move into 2018, let’s take the opportunity to reflect back on 2017. Using the VFACTS annual sales data, we’ve summarised some of the main trends we see in the Australian automotive industry, and what we expect to see in 2018.