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, November 8, we witnessed 1,681 dealer connections through our new car pricing platform. This was a major increase the week prior, and a normalisation in the trend that has been playing out for some weeks now, whereby new car buying interest has steadily improved as the economy finds its feet again.
We saw the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates yet again last week, this time slashing the official benchmark cash rate to just 0.1%. This should mark the bottom in terms of support from the central bank, however, it is yet another lever that stands to act as a tailwind for the new car industry, making financing more affordable, alongside the government’s recent announcement to wind back responsible lending legislation.
New car interest by brand
After recording a slump last week, Kia and Isuzu were back on the right path, with dealer enquiries this time rising 29.1% and 32.7% respectively compared with a week ago.
Mazda, Nissan and Volkswagen also fared well, but one of the prominent surprise packages was Mercedes-Benz, with interest in the German auto brand more than doubling in the space of a week from 44 enquiries to 91.
After a period out of the spotlight, Toyota managed to creep somewhat higher, recording a total of 38 dealer connections last week, but this is still well below normal levels for the market’s best-selling brand.
|
Prospective New Car Buyer Numbers |
Nov 2 – Nov 8 |
Oct 26 – Nov 1 |
% Change in Enquiries |
|
191 |
148 |
29.1% |
|
|
147 |
153 |
-3.9% |
|
|
135 |
122 |
10.7% |
|
|
132 |
102 |
29.4% |
|
|
130 |
98 |
32.7% |
|
|
118 |
108 |
9.3% |
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