Australia’s new car industry is on a roll as it recorded a total of 101,233 vehicles sold in March. This represents a growth of 1.2 percent despite ongoing supply hiccups in the global automotive industry.
According to the recent VFacts report released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the year-to-date total 262,436, a slight decrease of 0.5 percent from the same period in 2021.
“This is historically a unique time in which supply rather than demand is determining the size of the market. This is due to manufacturers recovering from the pandemic-related shutdowns and the ongoing global shortage of micro processing units,” said FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber
“Consumer inquiries and demand for new cars remains strong. Manufacturers are working hard to match this demand with supply,” Mr. Weber added.
This month, Toyota continued to lead the market with 21,828 units sold (a market share of 21.6 percent). Mazda follows in second with 11,248 units sold (11.1 percent share), followed by Mitsubishi which sold 9,007 new cars (8.9 percent market share). Hyundai, despite experiencing a dip in sales followed in 4th with 6,516 units sold (6.4 percent share) while Kia placed 5th with 6,051 units sold (6.0 percent share).
The top 2 best-selling models this month came from the market leader, the Toyota Hi-Lux which sold 6,324 units and the Toyota RAV4 which sold 4,610 units. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi’s Triton finished in 3rd place with3,808 units sold followed closely by the Mazda CX-5 with 3772 units sold. March marked the first time that Tesla reported its sales figures in Australia finishing in 5th place with 3,097 units sold for the Model 3.
Sales in Tasmania increased 8.2 per cent with 1,768 vehicles sold. Victorian sales increased by 5.3 per cent with 27,155 vehicles sold. Western Australia sales were up 5.3 per cent with 10,016 vehicles sold. Meanwhile, sales in the Australian Capital Territory were down 6.2 per cent compared with the same month in 2021, with 1,560 vehicles sold. New South Wales sales was down 0.8 per cent with 32,224 sold. Northern Territory sales decreased by 0.2 per cent with 916 vehicles sold. Queensland sales were down 1.7 per cent with 21,214 vehicles sold and South Australian sales decreased by 0.1 per cent with 6,380 vehicles sold.
The Passenger Vehicle Market is up by 639 vehicle sales (3.0%) over the same month last year; the Sports Utility Market is down by 812 vehicle sales (-1.6%); the Light Commercial Market is up by 939 vehicle sales (4.0%) and the Heavy Commercial Vehicle Market is up by 462 vehicle sales (12.5%) versus March 2021.
