Industry insights: VFACTS June 2022 summary
6 July 2022
National scene
For the month of June
- A total of 99,974 vehicles were sold in June, a decrease of 10,690 vehicles or 9.7 per cent over June 2021
- This represents the third month in a row of declining sales results since April 2022
- All market segments recorded lower sales in June, except for heavy commercial vehicles: passenger vehicle sales were down 21 per cent; SUV sales were down 2.3 per cent; light commercials down 16.5 per cent
- Fewer end of financial year deals, rising interest rates and continued stock shortages have kept new-car sales in decline last month.
Financial year to date
- Year to date, new vehicle sales are down by 29,610 vehicles or 5.2 per cent over the same period last year
- The combined effects of the war in the Ukraine, manufacturing plant shutdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic and shipping constraints continue to affect the supply of new vehicles into Australia.
State numbers
- Apart from the Northern Territory, all states and Territories recorded a decline in sales in June 2022, with NT recording sales growth of 16.3 per cent for the month
- The largest decline in sales was recorded by TAS (-17.2 per cent), followed by QLD (-13.2 per cent), VIC (-12.2 per cent), ACT (-11.6 per cent), SA (-8.6 per cent), NSW (-7.5 per cent) and WA (-2.2 per cent).
Commercial vehicles
- Heavy commercial vehicles were the only market segment that grew in June 2022, increasing by 173 vehicles or 3.5 per cent over June last year
- Year-to-date sales of heavy commercial vehicles are up 7.8 per cent.
Sales by vehicle category and fuel type
Battery electric vehicles
June sales
- 1,137 battery electric vehicles were sold in June 2022
- The Polestar 2 was the highest selling electric vehicle (201 sales), followed by the Tesla Model 3 (172 sales) and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (102 sales)
- Battery electric vehicle sales accounted for 1.6 per cent of the total passenger and SUV market.
Year to date sales
- 9,680 battery electric vehicles have been sold year to date
- 48 per cent of EV sales year to date are accounted for by one vehicle – the Tesla Model 3.
Plug-in-hybrids
- 570 plug-in-hybrid electric vehicles were sold in June, an increase of 252 or 79.2 per cent over June last year
- Year to date 2,941 plug-in hybrids have been sold, up by 1,501 vehicles or 104.2 per cent over the same time last year.
Hybrids, petrol & diesel
- 6,407 hybrid vehicles were sold in June this year, up by 565 vehicles or 9.7 per cent over June last year. Year to date hybrid sales are 41,056 – up 12 per cent over same period last year
- 51,388 petrol vehicles were sold in June this year, down by 15.3 per cent over June last year, and year to date petrol vehicle sales are down by 13.5 per cent
- 35,306 diesel vehicles were sold in June this year, down by 7.8 per cent over June last year, and year to date diesel sales are down 0.8 per cent.
Best sales performers
The most notable sales performers in June 2022 were:
- The Suzuki Baleno – 946 sales in June 2022, up 194.7 per cent from June 2021
- The Ford Escape – 264 sales, up 380 per cent
- The Honda CR-V – 683 sales, up 153.9 per cent
- The Jeep Compass – 233 sales, up 529.7 per cent
- Kia Sportage – 2,044 sales, up 136.8 per cent
- Kia Carnival – 1,101 sales, up 122.9 per cent
- Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class Wagon – 856 sales, up 198.3 per cent
- Subaru Outback – 1,264 sales, up 266.4 per cent.
Best brand performances
Many luxury and sports vehicle brands had notable sales increases in June 2022. These included:
- Aston Martin, who recorded 19 sales compared to only 7 in June last year
- Ferrari sold 20 vehicles in June this year compared to 13 last year
- Maserati sold 79 vehicles in June this year compared to 66 last year
- Porsche sold 629 vehicles in June this year compared to 411 last year
- Rolls Royce sold 8 vehicles in June this year compared to 4 last year.
Across all brands, Toyota was market leader in June selling 22,561 vehicles, followed by Kia with 8,480 sales, Hyundai 8,259 sales, Mazda 6,245 sales and Mitsubishi 5,846 sales.
The Toyota Hi-Lux was the highest selling model with 7,582 sales. Hyundai’s Tucson was next with 2,840 followed by Ford’s Ranger (2,802); Toyota’s Landcruiser (2,783); and Toyota’s Corolla (2,605).
Economic trends
With inflationary pressures being higher than anticipated, the Reserve Bank has embarked on a series of aggressive interest rate rises to curb consumer demand within the economy and restore some balance between the supply and demand for goods. These interest rate rises may act to restrain the demand for new vehicles over the second half of the year, thus contributing towards what is looking like a lacklustre year for the new vehicle market.
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