Another record month for new car sales has been welcomed by Fleet Managers as deliveries roll into their car parks to replace their ageing fleets. With order pipelines for novated lease and fleet cars continuing to build, the highest August result on record should make a dent.
There were 109,966 new vehicles delivered in August, a 15.4 per cent increase on the same period in 2022.
Deliveries to fleet customers are up 13 per cent in 2023 which equates to 42,988 more vehicles that should return to the used car market to increase supply and affordability for the second hand car buyer. Overall, the fleet industry has purchased 48% of all new vehicles so far in 2023.
FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said back-to-back months of record-breaking new car sales was positive news for car manufacturers and consumers.
“The Australian automotive sector continues to demonstrate its strength, with August recording unprecedented sales figures, reflecting both a high level of demand from Australians and improved supply of vehicles.
“Year-to-date sales have increased 9.9 per cent which is a better indicator of the underlying strength of the market.” Mr Weber said.
Mr Weber added that electric vehicles accounted for 6.4 per cent of sales and hybrid vehicles accounted for 10.5 per cent of sales in August.
“As consumers continue to embrace low emissions technologies we are seeing growth in electric, plug-in and hybrid vehicle sales. More than 1 in 6 vehicles sold in the month of August featured low emissions technologies.”
Toyota was the highest selling marque with 22,321 sales. Mazda followed with 8,458 then Ford (7,898), Hyundai (6,513) and Kia (6,510).
The top selling new vehicles in August were:
- Toyota Hi-Lux – 5,762
- Ford Ranger – 5,760
- Toyota RAV4 – 3,317
- Isuzu Ute D-Max – 3,281
- MG ZS – 3,193
