General News
30 October, 2024
Cars are out as SUVs and utes take over the market
THE family sedan or wagon is rapidly falling out of favour by new vehicle buyers.
Just 15 per cent of the new vehicle market in September were passenger cars (14,488) compared to 56,434 SUVs and 21,568 light commercials, such as utes.
The top selling car was the Kia Cerato (1588) compared to first placed Toyota RAV4 (5182) and 10th placed Mazda CX-5 (1799).
Australia recorded 97,020 new vehicle sales in September, 2024, marking the first time the industry has achieved sales exceeding 900,000 by the end of the third quarter.
However, the September 2024 total is a 12.4 per cent reduction on sales for the same month in 2023.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said, while the sales result to the end of September was solid, the easing in sales compared to the same month last year was an indication of the challenging economic times.
“During the early part of the year we witnessed record numbers,” he said.
“However, the September result shows that the state of the economy is impacting purchasing intentions.”
Mr Weber said that with one quarter remaining of the sales year, three clear trends had emerged regarding consumer preferences.
“First, SUVs and utes remain the vehicle of choice for around 80 per cent of new car buyers” he said.
“Nine of the top 10 vehicles sold during September were in the medium or large SUV or light commercial segments. By contrast the passenger segment was less than 15 per cent of the market.
“Second, across the board customers are showing a willingness to take steps towards lower emission vehicles with sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrid continuing to increase.
“Third, recorded sales of battery electric vehicles are again disappointing this month.
“This is in spite of a strong supply of EVs and the addition of a number of new brands and models being introduced into the Australian market. It is important to note that right now EVs are concentrated in limited market segments such as passenger medium and small and medium SUVs.
“This trend in lower EV sales and increased hybrid and plug-in hybrids is reflected in markets across the world as production and purchase incentives are being wound back.”
Toyota was the market leader with sales of 18,110 in September, followed by Ford (8303), Mazda (8201), Kia (7650) and Mitsubishi (6130). Sixth was Hyundai (5633), Isuzu Ute (3929), MG (3841), Nissan (3067) and GWM (3802).
The Toyota RAV4 was Australia’s top selling vehicle with sales of 5182 followed by Ford Ranger (4485), Toyota HiLux (4313), Ford Everest (2902) and Isuzu Ute D-Max (2612). Sixth was Mitsubishi Outlander (2508), Toyota Landcruiser (2164), Kia Sportage (2055), Mazda CX-3 (1982) and Mazda CX-5 (1799).
