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
New car buying interest as measured through the PriceMyCar platform continues to remain relatively steady, with 1,300 dealer connections taking place in the seven-day period ending Sunday, August 7, 2022.
This is approximately 4.5% higher than the week prior, and is actually significantly ahead of where we were this time last year, when just 1,180 price requests were recorded. Keep in mind, however, this time last year both Sydney and Melbourne were plunged into lockdowns, so new car buyers were facing barriers to purchase a vehicle, even if they wanted to.
In a widely expected move, the Reserve Bank of Australia increased the official cash rate yet again last week. Following a 50 basis point hike, the interest rate benchmark is now sitting at 1.85%, so the fact that new car buying interest is holding up well - even though at low levels - is one positive to take away at the moment. Consumers are also benefitting from a recent dip in petrol prices, which is alleviating cost of living pressure for households across the nation.
New car interest by brand
An unchanged line-up at the top of the list of the most sought after brands highlights that Australian new car buyers remain firmly invested in a core range of cars.
Interest in Kia vehicles climbed by nearly one-quarter last week, with well over 200 inbound queries relating to the South Korean auto-maker.
Mitsubishi still managed to hold onto second place despite its sharp increase being pared back significantly last week, and of course Mazda, Ford, and Hyundai featured in prominence as well.
Thanks to a strong showing last week, where price queries rose by over 40%, Subaru was only just outside the top five most desired makes of car, while further down the list, M.G. and RAM had a good week.
Prospective New Car Buyer Numbers |
Aug 1 – Aug 7 |
Jul 25 – Jul 31 |
% Change in Enquiries |
224 |
181 |
23.8% |
|
120 |
164 |
-26.8% |
|
110 |
121 |
-9.1% |
|
107 |
108 |
-0.9% |
|
100 |
91 |
9.9% |
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