July 2022 New Car Wait Times: Part 2

In the first part of our monthly analysis of new car wait times, we detailed the makes and models with the longest wait times, as well as the state of play across the broader market, with the average wait time increasing two days to 157 days at the end of July.

We will now shift our attention to wait times across the different states and territories around the country, as well as the makes and models with the shortest wait times right now. Without further ado, here are the rest of July’s observations.

Wait times across the country

Wait times in Western Australia have been scaled back significantly, which follows more stock making its way into the region after COVID bottlenecks had disrupted supply.

However, South Australians now face the same wait time as new car buyers in Western Australia, with both markets at an average wait time of 174 days, or nearly six months in total.

The figures for key states New South Wales and Victoria improved marginally in July, down 10 days and 6 days to 160 days and 159 days respectively. Although it may seem an anomaly that these states, and others can record a drop in average wait times, while the national wait time increased last month, this is largely a reflection of the composition of the data.

Improvements in Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory also provide some upbeat momentum, but it remains to be seen how a further series of supply constraints might affect the overall state of the new car market in August.

Makes and models with the shortest wait times

If you’re after a new car in a hurry then it still seems as though Renault is your best bet, with the average wait time for a vehicle made by the French auto-maker sitting at just 27 days. While that is up 5 days from June’s revised figures, it is still a clear frontrunner ahead of any other brand in the new car market, with the next best being Volvo, at 47 days.

Elsewhere, concerns about a blow-out in wait times for Chinese brands like M.G. and Haval have been avoided to date, with delivery times actually improving rather significantly last month. New car buyers now face a wait time of around two months for both brands, which by way of comparison with the rest of the market, is particularly good. 

With geopolitical tension escalating between China and Taiwan, shipping times could remain volatile in the near-term if there are prolonged issues shipping through the Taiwan Strait, although this may apply to a swathe of auto-makers as well.

Wait times are similar for Suzuki at 64 days, while the next names on the list sit quite further back in Audi (90 days), Mazda (96 days), and BMW (109 days).

With an average wait time of just 29 days, which is 5 days more than the downwards-revised figure from June, the Suzuki Vitara is the most accessible new car on the market right now. Even compared with the rest of the Suzuki range, this model is available in far greater quantity, which may please the various SUV aficionados out there. 

The Renault Koleos and M.G. 3 are also rather accessible to new car buyers, with the duo clocking in with an average wait time of 32 days and 39 days respectively. Both cars have received a good rap among new car buyers, with the latter helping propel M.G. towards becoming one of the best-selling car brands in Australia.

Next, the Hyundai Staria remains a mainstay in terms of the vehicles with the shortest wait time, although delivery delays expanded last month.

However, with the most improvement among the frontrunners, the Volvo XC40 slides into fifth place. New car buyers with their eyes set on this unit are looking at a near seven week delay, which is an improvement from the nine week wait time at the end of June.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Renault and Volvo were the standout performers in terms of supplies improving last month, with wait times down by 61% and 43% respectively. However, they weren’t the only names trending in the right direction, with improvements also recorded among Audi (wait times down 36%), Haval (-19%), and BMW (-16%). 

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