October 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 by one day to 152 days in October.

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 October’s observations.

Wait times across the country

With a wait time nearly double that of any other region across the country, the Northern Territory remains the toughest market to secure a new car. Motorists in the market for a new car are having to contend with an average wait time just shy of 300 days, although this figure is based on a limited pool of data given the small size of the sub-market.

Meanwhile, wait times in New South Wales have increased a fraction, up two days to 167 days, which is as high as we’ve seen, and ultimately, a drag on the market. 

On the other hand, the improvement in Western Australia is going from strength to strength, with another decrease in average wait times. Delivery delays fell by three days, with the overall wait now sitting at just over five months.

Among the other markets, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania, and the ACT all recorded a month-on-month improvement, but Victoria went backwards. New car delays increased by 10 days last month, and the catalyst for that blow-out was the floods that wreaked havoc across the state.

Makes and models with the shortest wait times

With Renault dislodged from the top of the list of the most accessible car brands, it was time for other brands to step up and fill the gap. Mercedes-Benz, despite a modest uptick in wait times, was the leading auto-maker in terms of vehicle supplies. New car buyers eyeing a Mercedes-Benz are looking at a 26-day wait time, which is more than fair, and largely due to the brand’s fixed-price agency model, where it owns and manages stock at a corporate level.

Next, we have the Chinese trio of GWM, LDV, and M.G. Each of these brands have recorded meteoric growth across the Australian car market, and it would appear that a nimble and efficient supply chain is at least partly responsible for their success. 

Of the trio, the biggest monthly improvement occurred for LDV, where the average wait time across its stable dropped by half in October. It has now leapfrogged its more successful peer in M.G, which has been a beacon of hope for much of the last couple years in terms of supply chain efficiency.

And in fifth spot, Jeep maintains its status as a top-dog in terms of accessibility, with the SUV-oriented brand putting in another respectable performance last month. Average wait times for a Jeep vehicle fell by six days to just six weeks.

The changes are sweeping through at the moment, with the Volkswagen T-Cross turning it on last month to become the model with the shortest wait time across the country. With fresh stock seemingly arriving down under, average delivery times improved by a whole month in October, and the result is a wait of just 10 days now to receive stock.

On the other hand, the Jeep Cherokee is narrowly behind, with a wait time of 11 days, albeit that data-point comes from a couple months ago since we haven’t received any update in that time.

Unsurprisingly, you’ll spot M.G. models in the list, with the 3 and HS faring particularly well. Both models have an average wait time that is less than a month, while delivery timeframes are roughly half of what they were a year ago.

And then there is the case of the Mercedes-Benz GLC, which courtesy of a 27-day wait time, is the fifth most accessible car in the country right now. It was a different story 12 months ago, when wait times ballooned out to more than 100 days, but the German auto-maker has done a solid job tightening up its supply chain and bringing more units of the GLC down under.

Last month’s biggest improvements came from a host of names, although several of the companies export stock out of China, which should tell you that the market there is recovering quite quickly. LDV, GWM, and M.G. all recorded a huge improvement in supply across their line-ups, but German duo Audi and BMW also fared well with wait times down by 38% and 28% respectively.

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