The Australian used car market has kicked off the year with a strong 7.3 percent increase compared to December 2023.
In the January 2024 edition of the Automotive Insights Report (AIR), 282,713 vehicles were listed for sale and 181,612 were sold across the nation. The average time to sell used vehicles this month was 47.7 days.
According to James Voortman, CEO of the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA), consumers have displayed resilience despite tightening cost-of-living pressures.
“The market appears to have bounced back after the holiday period and continued strong supply of new cars has had a flow-on effect in the availability of used cars in the market,” Mr. Voortman said.
January Used Car Sales Stats
The latest AIR indicates that 96 percent of total used car sales this month involved traditional petrol and diesel engines (174,090 units sold). Meanwhile, used hybrid vehicle sales went up 2.7 percent (6,006 units sold).
Used electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) saw a decline of 9.4 percent and 4.5 percent respectively (1,150 units and 127 units sold).
Voortman acknowledged the volatility of this segment, attributing the decrease to a relatively low volume of vehicles being listed for sale.
Meanwhile, retained values (RV) remained steady. Two to four-year-old Passenger vehicles had an average RV of 87 percent, SUVs had 80.9 percent, and LCVs and Utes had an average RV of 83.8 percent. Meanwhile, five to seven-year-old Passenger vehicles had an average RV of 71.2 percent, SUVs had 64.8 percent, and LCVs and Utes had. 72.5 percent.
Toyota continues to dominate the used car market. It held 10 out of the top 20 spots for passenger and SUV models aged between two and four years.
The list of top-selling used cars closely mirrors preferences in the new car market. The Ford Ranger claimed the top spot followed by the Toyota Hilux.
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