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
In the week ending Sunday, November 27, 2022, there were 1,157 new car enquiries that took place via the PriceMyCar platform. Compared with the week prior, this was a modest decrease of 1.9%.
New car buying interest has slumped over recent weeks following last month’s federal budget, which indicated growing pains ahead for households across the country. On the one hand, electricity and gas bills are set to skyrocket, eating into disposable income, while inflation is expected to peak at a higher level. That has given rise to the possibility that interest rates may also end up higher than forecast.
December is traditionally a busy time for the new car industry, and consumers interested in scooping up an end-of-year bargain might normally begin their searches at this time. However, with less scope for haggling due to persistent stock supply issues, and some manufacturers having switched to fixed-price agency models, we’re not surprised to see below-average enquiries for this time of year.
New car interest by brand
Most brands recorded a comparable level of new car buying interest as seen in the preceding week. Isuzu and Mitsubishi were arguably the exceptions to that trend, albeit their uptick was quite minimal in the grand scheme of things.
As it stands, the top five most sought after brands still account for a majority share of all search traffic via the PriceMyCar platform. In total, the brands of Kia, Ford, Mazda, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi made up 56.5% of all dealer connections last week. Including the next top five brands, the leading ten brands account for just over 78% of all enquiries.
|
Prospective New Car Buyer Numbers |
Nov 21 – Nov 27 |
Nov 14 – Nov 20 |
% Change in Enquiries |
|
224 |
228 |
-1.8% |
|
|
154 |
151 |
2.0% |
|
|
105 |
113 |
-7.1% |
|
|
91 |
97 |
-6.2% |
|
|
80 |
70 |
14.3% |
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