In this series, which we aim to bring to you every week, we’ll be detailing some of the key numbers and trends that we’re seeing in terms of dealer connections made through our site.
As this data is considered somewhat representative of broader industry activity, and serves as one of the more insightful leading indicators for potential car sales, we hope it will fulfil a few purposes for our broad audience. First, to document not just how we’re performing as a business, but how dealers and the wider market stand to perform, so you don’t have to wait til that next set of official sales data.
Without further ado, here’s what happened over the last week.
Total new car enquiries
Dealer connections made through the PriceMyCar platform continue to bounce around, this time increasing by 8.1% on the week prior to reach a total of 1,242. That is broadly in line with the result from a fortnight ago, with leads yo-yoing on the back of broader uncertainty.
The Easter holidays are likely to have been a more pressing focus for a number of households and families over the last week or two, not to mention, a number of households typically align travel plans with this time of year. On that front, it’s not an unexpected result to see new car enquiries at subdued levels.
Combined with the spread of a new Covid sub-variant, uncertainty surrounding the election, and what is expected to be an increase in the inflation rate - something that could prompt the RBA to lift the official interest rate by 50 basis points by June - a new car isn’t a priority for many households at this time, even though the jobs market is firing on all cylinders.
New car interest by brand
Mazda’s return to the top of the list of the most sought-after car brands in Australia proved to be short-lived, displaced after just one week by former pole position holder Kia.
In fact, it was a bumper week for the Korean auto-maker, with inbound enquiries related to the brand increasing by more than 20%. On the other hand, Mazda recorded one of the sharpest slides week-on-week, but still managed to hold onto second position.
Ford, Isuzu and Mitsubishi edged higher, Toyota bounced back strongly after a blip the week prior, while Mercedes-Benz also managed to deliver one of its strongest weeks in some time after recently switching to a fixed-price agency mode.
Prospective New Car Buyer Numbers |
Apr 18 – Apr 24 |
Apr 11 – Apr 17 |
% Change in Enquiries |
179 |
149 |
20.1% |
|
118 |
151 |
-21.9% |
|
109 |
118 |
-7.6% |
|
102 |
91 |
12.1% |
|
102 |
94 |
8.5% |
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