Weekly Dealer Car Enquiries: October 10, 2021

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

On the back of a modest dip the week prior, new car enquiries bounced back last week to pare some of the fall. In total, across the week ending Sunday, October 10, there were 1,547 dealer connections, which is equivalent to an increase of 6.1%. 

Now that we’re seeing New South Wales exit lockdown, and pick up momentum towards its next reopening hurdle in a week or so time, we expect pent-up demand to be a driving force for new car buying interest. 

While new car buyers were still able to scope out cars in the midst of lockdown, the process was undoubtedly more cumbersome and intimidating for some, as we know first-hand that many buyers like to see cars in person first before then getting stuck into some of the detail around sourcing the best price. 

On the back of the reopening, which will allow motorists to visit showrooms, we believe there will also be more interest in regional getaways and holidays. This is another tailwind in favour of new car buying interest, with a large number of Australians likely to holiday at home for the foreseeable future, even if international borders do open in the coming weeks.

New car interest by brand

Ford retains its position atop the most sought-after brands, which is on the back of a modest uptick in interest for the blue oval brand. The company’s Ford Ranger has been on fire lately, performing exceptionally well in the most-recent sales results for September, and with a strong finish, it could be in the hunt to take out the prized result of being the best-selling car for 2021.

Elsewhere, Mazda leapfrogged Kia into second position, with the brand’s SUV line-up gaining traction as Australians continue to favour larger vehicles in place of traditional sedans and hatchbacks. 

The rest of last week’s action was fairly subtle, with no major changes, although Subaru did see some positive momentum return in what has become a largely week-to-week affair for the Japanese manufacturer. 

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