Turning tides

11 September 2023

Turning tides

The tide has turned from the gloomy days of the global pandemic, where everything came to a grinding halt and any attempt to buy a new car became a non-event or just plain difficult.

And not a day too soon.

Buying a new vehicle should be memorable for all the right reasons.

However, new car sales became significantly hampered by pandemic-induced production delays, dealership trading restrictions and our ability to go car shopping during lock-down.

The ensuing reversal of supply at dealerships caused customer frustration and a blank stare into the delivery date crystal ball produced no clear answers about when you would get your new vehicle.  

I’m buoyed by my recent discussions with new car dealers, though, about inventory levels with new car stock flowing back to our shores.

Some dealerships have even stockpiled their more popular models.

So, if you are looking to buy a new car in the lead up to Christmas, you no longer need a forensic qualification and a white jumpsuit to find one. You just have to shop around to find what you want.

And with improving stock levels, we might even see the industry’s post-Christmas sale events return.

But proof of whether the tide has fully turned will come when delivery times for Toyota’s most popular hybrid models revert to under three months.

Just don’t bank on the used car market crashing because of more new car stock availability.

Words: VACC CEO Geoff Gwilym. As featured in the Herald Sun 9 September 2023.