New vehicle sales results released today by FCAI show a continuing softening in demand compared with the same month last year coupled with continuing preference for hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology.
A total of 99,091 new vehicles were delivered during November which was a decrease of 11.6 per cent on the same period last year.
“From an historical perspective, the 2024 year to date result is strong,” says FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber. “However, the market is starting to show a number of clear trends. The first half of 2024 recorded market growth of 8.7 per cent compared with 2023. Since July, we have seen the market decline by 8.2 per cent compared with 2023.
“The private buyer segment continues to struggle with a decline of 16.6 per cent on November 2023. This follows falls of 14.2 per cent in October, 17.2 per cent in September and 15.9 per cent in August. This is a disturbing trend which illustrates how cost of living pressures are impacting households.
“Consumer preference remains clear with SUVs and Light Commercial vehicles making up the top ten new vehicles sold while Passenger vehicles fell to a monthly market share of just 13.7 per cent.”
Weber added that November recorded another disappointing result for the sale of electric vehicles while Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid accounted for 16.9 per cent of November sales compared with 9.9 per cent last year.
“The Australian experience with EVs is similar to many major markets overseas such as Europe, New Zealand and the USA. Car makers are responding to regulatory settings that mandate an increase in the number of zero emission vehicles by introducing new products. However, consumers remain cautious about making the shift to pure EVs and instead are purchasing hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles.
“The industry will continue its part by introducing an increasing range of more affordable, low emission vehicles while working alongside governments to address challenges such as recharging infrastructure which is critical to building consumer confidence for the transition to low emission vehicles,”he said.
Toyota was the market leader with sales of 20,562 during November, followed by Ford (8,720), Mazda (7,588), Kia (6,410) and Mitsubishi (6,205). The Toyota RAV4 was Australia’s top selling vehicle with sales of 5,526 followed by Ford Ranger (4,981), Toyota Prado (3,590), Toyota HiLux (3,572) and the MG ZS (2,794).
Sales in the Australian Capital Territory were down 18.1 per cent on November 2023 to 1,333; New South Wales was down 12.2 per cent to 30,490; Northern Territory was down 21.1 per cent to 727; Queensland decreased 12.1 per cent to 21,320; South Australia also decreased by 9.5 per cent to 6,591; Tasmania had a decrease of 18.8 per cent to 1,642; Victoria decreased 9.8 per cent to 26,729 and Western Australia decreased by 12.2 to 10,259.