Weekly Dealer Car Enquiries: May 30, 2021

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, May 30, new car enquiries were largely in line with those from the week prior, coming in at 2,037, a modest uptick of 32 when measured week-on-week. 

The fact that this result was an improvement, even if modest, should not be discounted, because we have seen Victoria plunged into a week-long lockdown without the safety net of any financial support for businesses and impacted employees alike.

As we have made reference to, however, June is a peak time for new car buying interest, so we will be keeping an eye on figures over the next few weeks to see whether underlying demand offsets the hit to consumer sentiment arising from the lockdown.

New car interest by brand

There have been some changes atop the list of the most sought-after brands, as interest surges among some names, and cools among others. Mazda and Mitsubishi retain their places at the peak of the charts, even though there was a modest pull-back across both brands.

However, with 28 fewer inbound enquiries relating to Kia vehicles, that brand tumbled down the list into fifth position. Once with a commanding lead as the hottest brand among PriceMyCar members, Kia has seen interest wane as stock supply issues build up across the industry.

Leapfrogging into third and fourth respectively were Ford and Isuzu, with the latter bouncing  back strongly after a period of declining interest. Given new car buyers who operate a business will want to be quick to secure stock before the end of the financial year, the brand could be in for a late flurry of activity from prospective buyers. 

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