Let's crunch the numbers
May wasn’t the prettiest picture.
New vehicle sales have continued the downward trend, with 94,383 new vehicles recorded as being delivered, down 6.4 per cent over May 2021.
Across the board, sales were down everywhere except for the Northern Territory, which recorded record growth of 2.4 per cent for the month.
Heavy commercial vehicles continued their growth trend and were the only market segment that grew in May (up 8.8 per cent).
There were 925 electric vehicles sold in May, of which 153 were Polestars and only 12 were Tesla cars.
Plug-in-hybrid vehicles recorded a significant jump from 245 vehicles in May last year to 695 in May this year. Sales of conventional hybrids also rose by 11 per cent over the same period, while sales of petrol and diesel vehicles were 14.1 and 2.1 per cent lower.
Following on from the recent Australian Grand Prix, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and McLaren all witnessed increased sales in May this year:
- Aston Martin sold 10 coupe/convertibles in May 2022, compared to three in May last year
- Ferrari sold 14 coupe/convertibles in May this year compared to nine last year
- McLaren sold eight coupe/convertibles in May this year compared to seven last year.
Despite low unemployment, consumers are facing significant headwinds going into the second half of the year. Interest rates are on the rise and are forecast to be around one per cent higher by the end of the year. Inflation is also rising, currently at 5.1 per cent and is expected to reach 5.9 per cent by the end of the year, driven by rising fuel, energy and rent costs. These cost-of-living pressures are likely to dampen consumer demand moving forward and may result in a greater number of cancellations of orders for new vehicles by consumers.
Data source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Words: VACC CEO Geoff Gwilym.
Share your thoughts! E: ceo@vacc.com.au. As featured in the Herald Sun Friday 10 June 2022.
Statistics are discussed on the new episode of THE GRILLE, an automotive industry podcast hosted by Greg Rust, Shane Jacobson and VACC CEO Geoff Gwilym. Visit: thegrillepodcast.com.au