Weekly Dealer Car Enquiries: March 27, 2022

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

Just when things started to look as though they may have been picking up, new car enquiries posted a second consecutive week of falling numbers in the week ending March 27, 2022.

There were a total of 1,245 dealer connections that took place across the seven-day period, which was 15.7% lower than the week prior. Compared with a year ago, when there were 2,074 new car enquiries, the market still has some distance to go to close the gap.

At this point, with the federal budget imminent, and the election edging closer, households may be looking for some reassurance as far as assistance in dealing with cost-of-living pressure. Inflation is a primary concern for households across the country, and it is expected to get worse before it gets better. 

We, alongside many other businesses and individuals, will be looking for clarity around what measures might be proposed to help combat rising consumer prices across the board. It is already tipped that the fuel excise rate will be temporarily slashed, and there are suggestions some cash payments may be made to eligible individuals, and other tweaks to the low and middle income tax offset (LMITO) in lieu of an extension to the policy.

While these challenges and uncertainty hang over households, the recovery across the new car market may prove to be patchy.

New car interest by brand

There were contrasting scenes among the frontrunners in the new car market, with Kia pulling further ahead of the field thanks to a modest gain in new car quotes, while the Korean brand’s nearest rivals, Mazda and Hyundai, saw interest ease fractionally. 

While Kia continues to be plagued by delays and stock shortages, this doesn’t seem to be impacting interest in the brand. If anything, it is compounding the problem, while brands such as Mazda and M.G, with a ‘cleaner’ run as far as accessing stock, have yet to really capitalise on their supply chain strength.

Volkswagen is another brand that has remained relatively subdued of late, recently eclipsed by BMW, while also in danger of being surpassed by the likes of LDV and Volvo. It managed to hold ground last week, but the popularity of the brand hasn’t really translated into search activity in recent times.

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