Industry insights: VFACTS January 2022 summary

4 February 2022

VACC Senior Research Analyst, Steve Bletsos breaks down the latest automotive statistics from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Here’s what you need to know…

National Scene

• In a lacklustre start to the year, there were 75,863 new vehicles sold in January 2022. This is a reduction of 3,801 vehicles or 4.8 percent over January 2021
• Passenger vehicles sales fell by 2,853 vehicles or 15.3 percent, while SUV sales fell by 1,947 vehicles or 4.7 percent in January 2022. The only segments which recorded growth were light commercial vehicles – up 4.4 percent, and heavy commercial vehicles – up 10.9 percent
• New vehicle sales were down in all states/territories, except for Tasmania which recorded sales growth of 15.4 percent 
• Ongoing shortages of microprocessors and other components are continuing to affect automotive supply chains, along with shipping constraints that are delaying the delivery of new vehicles to dealers and customers. This is a global problem affecting most many countries.

Sales by Vehicle Category and Type

• Electric vehicles (EVs) continue to sell well with 620 EVs sold in January 2022 (109.5 percent growth), as are plug -in-hybrids (307 sales, up 94.3 percent). Petrol vehicles were the only fuel type to show a sales decline in January, falling by 12.3 percent.

The most notable growth in January 2022 occurred in the following vehicle segments:

• Micro cars – up 30.5 percent, led by the Mitsubishi Mirage
• Medium cars (below $60,000) – up 19.4 percent led by the Toyota Camry
• People Movers – up 15.4 percent, led by the Honda Odyssey and Mercedes-Benz V-Class
• Utes – sales of the Mitsubishi Triton 4x4 rose by 51.1 percent to outsell the Toyota Hilux 4x4 (2,604 sales to 2,569)

Brand performance:

• MG sales have picked up from where they left last year, with sales growing by 46.9 percent
• Peugeot had a good start to the year, with January sales up 72 percent, led by the Peugeot 2008
• Honda’s downward trend continues with Honda sales falling 48.8 percent. The Honda Odyssey was the only Honda model to record sales growth
• Most super luxury brands recorded sales falls– Bentley sales fell 70.6 percent; Lamborghini sales fell 91.7 percent; Aston Martin fell 46 percent; Rolls-Royce made no sales in January.

Economic trends

While it’s early in the new year, there are economic fundamentals underpinning the subdued January results. Apart from the supply constraints affecting the market, there are also inflationary pressures weighing in on new vehicle purchases, with the Import Price Index for motor vehicles rising by 4.3 percent. The consumer price index also rose by 3.5 percent in the December quarter, due to rises in automotive fuel costs. These inflationary pressures may be acting to dampen sales to consumers to some extent.

There is also talk of interest rates rising this year, coupled with the federal election in May, which also may be causing uncertainty for some businesses and consumers. These may act to delay both investment and spending decisions. Also, research shows that following an election, and particularly with a change of government, motor vehicle purchases tend to increase relatively more amongst voters for the winning party.

Data source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Statistics will be discussed on the February episode of THE GRILLE, a new automotive industry podcast hosted by Greg Rust, Shane Jacobson and VACC CEO, Geoff Gwilym. Out Thursday, 10 February! Visit: thegrillepodcast.com.au