Australia’s used vehicle market bounced back strongly in July, with sales rising 11.8 per cent to 240,311 units sold. New data from the Australian Automotive Dealers Association (AADA) and AutoGrab shows this was largely driven by the market’s recovery from end-of-financial-year (EOFY) dealer demonstrator clearances.
EOFY demonstrator clearances distort June results
Dealer demonstrator sales surged from 17,547 vehicles in May to 22,427 in June as dealerships cleared stock before the end of the financial year. Those sales then fell sharply to 11,418 units in July, a decline of 49 per cent.
In contrast, genuine used vehicle sales from dealers, excluding demonstrators, remained relatively stable, increasing from 82,360 units in June to 89,857 in July.
AADA Chief Executive Officer James Voortman said the July figures confirmed the June decline was largely temporary.
“The July rebound shows the June decline was largely a seasonal effect driven by end-of-financial-year demonstrator clearances rather than any softening in underlying demand,” Mr Voortman said.
Private sellers continue to gain market share
While dealers recorded a healthy increase of 9.1 per cent in used vehicle sales, private sellers grew at almost three times this rate, recording a volume increase of 26.2 per cent in July.
As a result, dealer share of the near-new used vehicle market declined from 71.8 per cent to 70.1 per cent.
The report found that the two sales channels continued to serve different parts of the market.
Vehicles aged between zero and four years accounted for 42 per cent of dealer sales in July, compared with just 10 per cent of private sales. Meanwhile, vehicles aged 11 years or older represented 61 per cent of private transactions but only 24 per cent of dealer sales.
“It’s encouraging to see dealers increase used vehicle sales during July. However, private sellers grew at a much faster rate, highlighting the competitive conditions across the used vehicle market,” Mr Voortman said.
Higher supply slows vehicle turnover
The number of vehicles advertised for sale increased to 437,855 in July, up 13 per cent from the previous month.
However, supply growth slightly outpaced demand, contributing to longer selling times across the market. The average vehicle spent 52.1 days on the market, the highest figure recorded so far in 2026.
AutoGrab Chief Commercial Officer Saxon Odgers said higher sales volumes did not necessarily translate into faster turnover.
“Supply grew a little faster than demand in July. There were 437,855 vehicles advertised for sale, up 13 per cent on June, against 240,311 sold, up 11.8 per cent,” Mr Odgers said.
“A market can be busy and slow at the same time, and in July it was both.”
Dealers maintain pricing discipline despite slower sales
Despite taking longer to sell comparable vehicles aged one to five years, dealers continued to achieve similar retained values to private sellers while discounting less frequently and less aggressively.
According to the report, dealers took an average of 22 more days than private sellers to sell comparable vehicles. This pattern has remained consistent over recent months.
Mr Voortman said the data suggested slower turnover was influenced by broader market conditions rather than pricing strategies.
“The data also shows dealers are continuing to achieve similar retained values to private sellers while discounting less often. That suggests slower stock turnover is being influenced by broader market dynamics rather than pricing alone,” he said.
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