– By Marc Sibbald –
Fleet Auto News has surveyed the top novated lease and salary packaging companies to find out which were the most popular novated lease vehicles in 2019.
This annual list of popular novated lease vehicles reflects a true picture of consumer choice and new vehicle trends because they are all private purchases. They are using a novated lease for the financial savings and administration benefits this unique funding model provides Australian families.
The Fleet Auto News Top 10 Novated Lease vehicles in 2019 were:
- Mazda CX-5
- Toyota Landcruiser Prado
- Mazda3
- Ford Ranger
- Volkswagen Golf
- Subaru Forester
- Mitsubishi Triton
- Toyota Landcruiser 200
- Toyota Hilux
- Mazda CX-9
Last year the Mazda3 almost fell out of the Top 10 though it has returned in 2019 with a charge into third place. Subaru entered the list for the first time last year with the Outback though buyer preference switched to the Forester in 2019. Mitsubishi has finally been rewarded for their strong overall sales with the Triton making the list for the first time and the ASX jsut missing out.
Premium models were prominent in the survey though it did depend on the price. Novated lease buyers seem happy to spend up to $45,000 by selecting higher specifications in a lower priced vehicle and then pick the base or mid-spec vehicle as the price increases.
Dereck Cooke, National Group Leasing Manager at Fleetcare (who provided the data for the 2020 Novated Leasing Guide), saw some changes in 2019.
“The CX-5 has been top of the chart for years now, there’s no slowing Australian’s desire for this mid-size SUV. In our list the Ford Ranger has jumped a few places from last year and rightly so. With new styling options, we’re it’s seeing increasing popularity as a great family getaway vehicle, as comfortable on a fishing trip as it is on the worksite,” states Cooke.
“Subaru Forester is a choice pick for the safety-conscious. Subaru have done a fantastic job incorporating safety features like adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring and lane assist in all models.”
Andy Mulcaster, Managing Director of SG Fleet, believes in 2020 we’ll see a continuation of SUV wagons and utility vehicles dominating in new novated deliveries.
“It is likely that we will see a preference for either price point brands (e.g. Hyundai, Kia, MG) or premium models (e.g. Ranger XLT/Wildtrak, CX-5 Akera/GT, Hilux SR5, Prado GXL/VX)”, said Mulcaster.
“There is a high probability that we’ll see increasing volumes of Hybrid vehicles (e.g. Corolla, Camry, Rav4) as many consumers look for more eco-friendly vehicle options.”
Simon Haidar, Group Executive – Sales and Product Services, at McMillan Shakespeare, suggests an increasing awareness of climate change will start to influence novated buyers.
“What will be interesting this year, particularly off the back of heightened awareness and debate surrounding the challenge of climate change, together with an improving vehicle range and pricing, is whether we see a marked uptake in buyer appetite for electric, hybrid and other environmentally friendly vehicles.” says Haidar.
“Overall, demand for these vehicles remains low across the Australian car-park. Despite the fact that electric and hybrid vehicles sales are low at present in the Australian market, we are seeing an increase in our novated customers upgrading their vehicles to newer models, which are typically more fuel efficient and provide greater safety features. Our novated customers are everyday Australians, looking at maximising their disposable income, while having a convenient and easy way to manage their budget through a novated lease.”
Used vehicles are also popular in novated leasing and in 2019 and there were some interesting trends and changes according to Andrew Kerr, Director – Sales & Marketing at Inside Edge.
“2019 was a very strong year for us again and used cars were stronger than new (61% used cars compared to 39% new). This does include residual value rolling over, which in itself is interesting, because people are choosing to retain their cars” says Kerr.
“While Mazda still clearly the novated car of choice, we are seeing a swing to Kia and Hyundai eating into the CX-5 and Mazda 3 markets.”
