Customer demand for new vehicles is continuing to recover strongly with last month’s sales result being the highest-selling April on record and the sixth consecutive month of growth.
New vehicle sales were 92,347 in April 2021 compared with the significantly lower result of 38,926 in the corresponding month in 2020. The result also is a 22 per cent increase on the April 2019 result of 75,550.
Year to date, sales are up 30.7 per cent compared with 2020 with 355,995 sales this year compared with 272,287 in 2020 with growth recorded in all segments. The Passenger Vehicle Market is up by 8,906 vehicle sales (97.2%) over the same month last year; the Sports Utility Market is up by 31,154 vehicle sales (172.9%); the Light Commercial Market is up by 12,278 vehicle sales (130.1%).
Chief Executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Tony Weber, said that confidence in the new vehicle market was high and could be expected to continue to grow through the remainder of the year.
“New vehicles sales are a direct reflection of the performance of the broader economy in terms of consumer and business confidence,” Mr Weber said. “This time last year we were seeing significant impacts from COVID-19 with less customer activity and inquiries to dealerships.
“Historically the April result is between 70,000 and 80,000 vehicles, so the 2021 result is very significant. This sales trend is expected to continue as we enter the final two months of the financial year.
“It also was pleasing to see increases in sales for Rental vehicles across all segments. Growth in Rental fleets will be an important building block supporting the recovery of the tourism industry across the country.
Mr Weber added that supply chain constraints such as a shortage of semiconductors and shipping issues related to delays through the Suez Canal were impacting the delivery of new vehicles to Australian customers.
“Every vehicle company is focused on solving the issues caused by these impacts and they are working with customers to keep them fully informed regarding supply issues and delivery dates. It is possible there is pent-up market demand which may be reflected in sales figures in the second half of 2021 as solutions are found to these issues,” Mr Weber said.
Toyota was the market leader (20,208) followed by Mazda (10,052), Mitsubishi (7,513), Ford (7,146) and Hyundai (5,772). Ford Ranger was the top-selling individual model (5,021) followed by the Toyota RAV4 (4506), Toyota Hi-Lux (4222), Toyota Landcruiser (3,177) and Mitsubishi Triton (2,458).
