Australia’s used vehicle market continued to recover in August, with sales increasing for a second consecutive month. The one-to-five-year-old segment recorded growth across most major states.
A total of 243,514 used and demonstrator vehicles were sold nationally during August, up 1.3 per cent on July, according to new data from the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) and AutoGrab.
Sales of one-to-five-year-old used vehicles increased by 5.4 per cent to 58,090, with Victoria recording the strongest growth among the five largest states.
Victoria narrowly leads major-state growth
New South Wales remained Australia’s largest market for one-to-five-year-old used vehicles, recording 16,956 sales in August.
Victoria recorded the strongest growth among the five largest states, with sales rising 6.7 per cent to 14,148.
NSW followed closely, with sales increasing 6.6 per cent during the month.
The state-by-state results were mixed, with Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia also recording growth, while Tasmania and the territories recorded declines.
AADA CEO James Voortman said the figures showed different trends were emerging across the country.
“Australia’s used vehicle market continued to build momentum in August, but the state-by-state numbers show there is no single story playing out across the country,” Voortman said.
“Victoria may have taken the title for fastest-growing major market, but NSW is still comfortably the biggest, with almost 17,000 one-to-five-year-old vehicles changing hands in August. Queensland, WA and South Australia also recorded solid growth, while Tasmania and the territories went backwards.”
Ranger continues to dominate
The Ford Ranger remained the leading one-to-five-year-old used vehicle across most Australian markets, ranking first in seven of the eight states and territories.
It has also held first place in every mainland state since June.
The Toyota RAV4 was the exception, ranking first n the ACT after recording 27 sales compared with 19 for the Ranger.
The Toyota HiLux ranked second in five markets, while the Ranger and HiLux together accounted for 20.4 per cent of used vehicle sales in the Northern Territory.
Voortman said the Ranger’s performance continued to stand out.
“The Ford Ranger’s dominance of the used market is pretty remarkable, it was the top-selling one-to-five-year-old vehicle in seven of the eight states and territories. The ACT was the one market to buck the trend, where the Toyota RAV4 managed to beat the Ranger.”
Used EV sales accelerate
Electric vehicles recorded the strongest growth among the fuel types in August, with used EV sales increasing by 19.4 per cent.
AutoGrab chief commercial officer Saxon Odger said the growth was notable despite EVs continuing to represent a smaller portion of the used vehicle market than petrol and diesel vehicles.
“Used EV sales rose 19.4 per cent in August, outpacing the movements in all other fuel types, albeit that EVs continue to make up a significantly smaller segment of the used market than petrol and diesel vehicles,” Odger said.
Chinese-made vehicles also featured prominently among the fastest-selling one-to-five-year-old used vehicles.
Five of the eight fastest-selling one-to-five-year-old used vehicles across the states and territories were Chinese-made in August.
The BYD Shark 6 was the fastest-selling used vehicle nationally, taking an average of 27.9 days to sell. It also recorded a retained value of 92.1 per cent of its original value.
The BYD Atto 3 was Victoria’s fastest-selling used vehicle, averaging 27.7 days to sell.
However, faster sales did not necessarily correspond with stronger retained values. The MG ZST, for example, took an average of just 23.2 days to sell in Queensland while recording a retained value of 60.7 per cent.
At the other end of the scale, the Suzuki Jimny r recorded the highest retained value nationally but took an average of 58.3 days to sell.
Listings fall as sales increase
While sales increased during August, the number of vehicles listed for sale declined.
There were 422,509 vehicles listed during the month, down 3.5 per cent from July.
Dealer sales accounted for 40.9 per cent of the market, while average days to sell edged down to 51.5 days following July’s higher result.
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