When things are bad, the first spending to suffer is discretionary purchases. Owners hold on to their vehicles longer, or simply put off their first buy Younger Australians do without a car altogether. Older Australians are being squeezed by low interest rates, and there is no sign of improvement. The industry body chief, FCAI’s Tony Weber, says “While the drought and other domestic conditions are impacting the market, our key concern is the effect over-regulation of the financial sector is having on new vehicle sales. The FCAI and our members have been concerned about the risk averse approach to lending in Australia for some time and see improved access to finance as a key to driving economic growth in 2020”
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Australian vehicle market continues nose-dive.
The figures are out, and the news is bad, very bad, for the Australian car retailers.
Some Top Ten Reviews
When things are bad, the first spending to suffer is discretionary purchases. Owners hold on to their vehicles longer, or simply put off their first buy.
Younger Australians do without a car altogether. Older Australians are being squeezed by low interest rates, and there is no sign of improvement.
The industry body chief, FCAI’s Tony Weber, says “While the drought and other domestic conditions are impacting the market, our key concern is the effect over-regulation of the financial sector is having on new vehicle sales. The FCAI and our members have been concerned about the risk averse approach to lending in Australia for some time and see improved access to finance as a key to driving economic growth in 2020”
However, the recent banking Royal Commission proved that far from being over-regulated, there were insufficient consumer protections. Household debt is at record levels, so it is more likely to be an affordability problem than a borrowing problem.
Australia perches on the verge of recession with spending down across the board.
New vehicles suffered a 5.2% drop for private buyers, 8.2% for business, and 7.3% for government. Almost 78,000 fewer units have been sold this year compared to the same time last year.
Spending down across the retail sector, and Car makers doing it tough. Nineteen straight months of decline have taken their toll.
Toyota has 20.6% market share, and the top 5 vehicles are: 1- Toyota Hilux (3,516 units) , 2 – Ford Ranger (3,160), 3 – Hyundai i30 (2,216), 4 – Toyota RAV4 (2,132), 5 – Toyota Corolla (2,117).
BMW and KIA bucked the trend, with sales increasing by 0.5% and 2.9% respectively. Mercedes Benz is down 6.8% and Audi, a massive 25.6%. Kia was the only retailer in the top ten to increase sales.
The once great Holden now rests in 9th places, selling 41.3% fewer cars last month and is down 26.6% for the year. Ford sales sagged 8.3% on this time last year.
Top Ten Cars
Rank/Vehicle/Oct-19/Oct-18/% diff
- Toyota Hi-Lux/3516/4401/-20.1%
- Ford Ranger/3160/3511/-10.0%
- Hyundai i30/2216/2049/8.2%
- Toyota RAV4/2132/1582/34.8%
- Toyota Corolla/2117/2663/-20.5%
- Toyota Landcruiser/2101/1970/6.6%
- Kia Cerato/1827/1338/36.5%
- Mazda CX-5/1708/2000/-14.6%
- Hyundai Tucson/1693/1530/7%
- Nissan XTrail/1592/1644/-3.2%
Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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