June 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 rising by nine days to 155 days last month.

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 June’s observations.

Wait times across the country

For the second month in a row, another major jump in wait times for Western Australians means that it is the regional market with the longest delivery times across the nation. In total, new car buyers now face an approximate eight month wait for a new vehicle in WA, with the state recently feeling the effects of COVID in terms of labour absenteeism and supply chain disruption.

New South Wales has been hit by further delays, and with the region devastated by flooding at the start of the new month, the situation is only likely to face more challenges and headwinds. Nonetheless, the average wait time for a new car in NSW at the end of June was 170 days, or nearly six months.

There were modest increases for wait times in South Australia and Victoria, up 30 days and 12 days respectively, while Queensland was arguably the most solid result with respect to the size of the region and population. Delivery times in Australia’s Sunshine State increased by just 3 days, reaching a total of 143 days.

Naturally, the smaller regions like the Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory, and Tasmania saw greater volatility, which is tied to the timing of new car supplies arriving in each respective location.

Makes and models with the shortest wait times

Renault cars are still sitting pretty at the top of the list for the brands with the shortest average wait time across the nation. In fact, wait times actually improved last month from what was an already low figure of 20 days heading into June, ending the month at 19 days. This sort of wait time is effectively back to ‘normal’ levels, making the French auto-maker effectively the only company on the market with stock at the ready.

Volvo and M.G. are the next two best-placed makes of car if you are eyeing a quick turnaround on your purchase. The duo have wait times of 62 days and 64 days respectively, which represent a monthly improvement of 8 days and 6 days respectively. M.G. managed to improve supply quickly despite hitting its first real operational hiccup since the pandemic started, while wait times for Volvo are only fractionally worse than this time a year ago.

There is a bit of a gap to reach the other brands in the top five, with Suzuki’s average wait time clocking in at 79 days, an increase of 36 days due to production setbacks, while the delivery time for a GWM vehicle is now 102 days, an increase of 27 days amid the semiconductor shortage, shipping delays, and the backlog caused by lockdowns in China.

The Renault Captur remains the most accessible car across the market, at least according to dealer data received through the PriceMyCar platform. New car buyers can expect a short 10 day wait time for this upmarket model, and it goes some distance towards explaining why Renault is also the brand with the shortest wait time.

The next three models are all cars that featured in the leaders list in May, namely the Suzuki Vitara, M.G. 3, and the Hyundai Staria. The average wait time for all three is around a month, give or take a few days. There is a positive story here as well because supplies improved across all three models throughout June, despite well publicised issues for each brand.

One of the nation’s best selling cars made its way into the top five, with the Mazda 3 recording an improvement in wait times of 19 days, now sitting at 67 days. Although that is still 12 days higher than a year ago, in the context of what the market has done in that time, the popularity of this specific model, and the overall wait time for all Mazda cars (90 days), there is good reason for Mazda to be happy with this result.

There weren’t many companies making up ground in terms of reducing delivery delays last month, but RAM did lead the improvements, seeing its wait times fall by 22% as a whole, ahead of Audi, Volvo, and MG, where the gains were 16%, 11%, and 9% respectively.

To get FREE access to instant pricing on just about every new car make and model, plus guaranteed discounts, sign up today