In this series, which we hope to bring to you on a regular basis, 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 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
In the week ending Sunday, March 14, there were 2,259 new car enquiries received via PriceMyCar. We’ve now seen a few weeks in a row where dealer connections have eased slightly, however, the pace of this contraction has been relatively subdued, with last week’s movement being a modest drop of 4.2%.
The economic backdrop continues to point towards underlying strength, with business confidence at its highest level in more than 10 years. This might prove a tailwind for commercial buyers and fleet operators, although of course the unwinding of JobKeeper at the end of this month may be something also to keep an eye on for individuals, as well as businesses from certain sectors, particularly tourism.
New car interest by brand
Mazda maintained a growing level of interest last week and actually edged within sight of overtaking Kia, but for falling just short. The number of dealer connections for Mazda vehicles rose 10 to 270, while for Kia that number decreased 36 to 274.
Meanwhile, there was a big drop-off for inbound enquiries relating to Ford, although given the longer-term track record, we expect this to be nothing more than a blip. Dealer connections for Ford vehicles slumped by 69 to a weekly total of 182.
Finally, despite the overall week-on-week reduction for new car enquiries, the breadth of brands actually increased, with a couple of often-unsighted names in Chysler and GWM making an appearance, even if in low quantity.
|
Prospective New Car Buyer Numbers |
Mar 8 – Mar 14 |
Mar 1 – Mar 7 |
% Change in Enquiries |
|
274 |
310 |
-11.6% |
|
|
270 |
260 |
3.8% |
|
|
196 |
194 |
1.0% |
|
|
182 |
251 |
-27.5% |
|
|
142 |
144 |
-1.4% |
|
|
124 |
120 |
3.3% |
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