It feels like Christmas has come early with thousands of new cars arriving earlier than promised which has created some headaches for Fleet Managers. The volume was so large in September that it set a new record for the month with 110,702 vehicles being delivered (an 18.3 per increase on last year).
It’s no problem when passenger cars and SUVs arrive early (especially for novated lease buyers excited about getting a new car), however I creates a challenge for fleets and dealers when utes and vans turn up months before they were expected.
When a dealer tells a fleet customer their new ute/van is coming in December, they advise the body builder and a slot in the production line is scheduled. When it arrives in September, the body builder can’t take it, the fleet customer can’t use it, and the dealer doesn’t want it hanging around. A three way fight over the delivery of a vehicle that everyone wants to avoid.
FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said almost 900,000 new sales had been achieved so far this year and four of the past five months had been record months.
“The record result shows that Australian car buyers value a broad choice of vehicles in a range of price brackets that suit the family or business budget,” Mr Weber said.
“Consumers have a choice of vehicles across 20 light vehicle segments – from small passenger cars through to larger utes – confirming Australia’s position as one of the most open and competitive new vehicle markets in the world.
“Our advice is that the supply of vehicles into Australia, including electric vehicles, continues to improve so those consumers who want to buy a new vehicle should visit a dealer or manufacturer.”
Sales of SUVs and Light Commercial vehicles made up 79.4 per cent of sales with Passenger vehicles making up 16.8 per cent of sales.
Battery electric vehicles accounted for 8.0 per cent of sales while electrified vehicles (battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid) recorded 18.3 per cent of sales. And sales across every State and Territory increased this month compared with September 2022.
Toyota was the highest selling marque with 20,912 sales. Mazda followed with 8,031 then Ford (8,015), Kia (7,303) and Hyundai (6,217).
The top vehicles delivered in September were:
- Toyota Hi-Lux – 5,776
- Ford Ranger – 5,429
- Tesla Model Y – 3,811
- Isuzu Ute D-Max – 2,885
- Toyota RAV4 – 2,798
