VFACTS July 2022 new car sales: Market improves, but more cars coming

New-car sales in Australia increased by 0.4 per cent in July 2022 – the first small increase after three months in a row of decline – compared to the same month last year, as rising interest rates limit the potential of showroom deliveries.

Official VFACTS new-car sales data published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) this morning reported 84,461 new passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles as sold in July 2022, up 0.4 per cent compared to the same month last year.

However, so far in 2022, 622,319 vehicles have been reported as sold – down 4.5 per cent on the 651,629 reported as sold over the same period last year.

Japanese giant Toyota retained its position as Australia's top-selling new-car brand, reporting 19,565 vehicles as sold.

The Toyota HiLux ute held its top spot on the model sales charts – after breaking its all-time monthly sales record in June – as its nearest challenger in recent years, the Ford Ranger, stalled amid a changeover between new and old models.

Toyota's popular ute has now established a commanding lead in the 2022 new-car sales race, and is on track to notch up its seventh annual victory in a row – a record for any ute and the longest winning streak since the Holden Commodore's 15-year run came to an end last decade.

Last month's reported new-car sales were down 8.9 per cent on the all-time July record of 92,754 vehicles, set in 2017 – and behind the five-year average for the same month before the pandemic (2015-19), of 89,026 cars reported as sold.

Stock shortages and long waiting lists continue to limit new-car deliveries – particularly for brands including Toyota, which continue to pause production amid COVID-19 outbreaks and other delays at its suppliers.

Major new-car dealers canvassed by Drive say they continue to write more orders than they have vehicles to deliver, meaning the market will likely report higher monthly sales figures later in the year.

Compounding the stock dramas for the car industry: recent increases in the interest rates.

The Reserve Bank cash rate has risen from 0.1 to 1.85 per cent from April to August this year – which has seen some lenders decline car finance applications for buyers now deemed too great a risk to make the repayments.

Dealers canvassed by Drive in June reported lower foot traffic in showrooms – with up to 10 per cent of finance applications at one particular showroom being knocked back.

The cash rate has increased by a further percentage point (0.85 to 1.85 per cent) since last month. The recent monthly increases of 0.5 percentage points are the highest in 22 years.

Data from accounting firm Deloitte indicates close to a third of new cars sold in Australia are purchased using in-dealer finance – but some dealers report up to 50 per cent of car sales are financed in their showrooms.

Year to date, the market is down 2.4 per cent on where it was pre-pandemic in 2019 (637,650), and down 10.1 per cent on 2017 (692,306), when new-car sales went on to set an all-time record (1.19 million) by year's end.

Since the start of the year, sales have decreased across business (5.6 per cent) and government (8.9 per cent) buyers – but have increased 1.8 per cent for private buyers, and a not-insignificant 28.5 per cent for rental fleets.

In a media statement, Tony Weber, chief of the Federal Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, said: "Vehicle and component manufacturing operations remain affected by plant shutdowns caused by COVID-19. Logistics, including shipping, remain unpredictable.

"While small growth on the same month in 2021 is encouraging, we do not expect the supply of vehicles to Australia to stabilise in the near future. Once again Australia is following the global trend of demand for new vehicles exceeding supply."

Toyota continues to top the new-car sales charts and account for one in every five cars sold, reporting 19,565 cars as sold in July – or 140,942 since the start of this year.

Mazda regained its historical second-place spot on the sales charts – after falling to fourth in recent months – with 7879 cars reported as sold, down 11.7 per cent compared to the same month last year.

Kia just lost out to sister brand Hyundai for the title of Australia's third best-selling vehicle brand in July, with Hyundai selling 6792 cars to Kia's 6711 – up 34.2 and 29 per cent respectively compared to July 2021.

For the prior two months, Kia and Hyundai managed second and third places on the sales charts.

Following was Mitsubishi in fifth (5611 sales, up 5.8 per cent year-on-year) and Ford in sixth (4439 sales, down 20.3 per cent). The best-selling luxury brand last month was Mercedes-Benz (cars), with a reported 2479 sales.

Chinese brand MG matched its historical best finish of seventh place last month – for the ninth month in a row – after up to 7000 cars docked on Australian shores in July.

The best-selling new vehicle last month was once again the Toyota HiLux, with 6441 reported as sold across 4x2 and 4x4 versions – up on the 4610 sold in July 2021, but down on its all-time record posted last month, of 7582 reported sales.

The Ford Ranger regained its historical second-place spot on the new-car sales charts, after the first examples of the new-generation model were delivered to customers began in mid July.

However, its sales are down 27.8 per cent compared to the same month last year – and for every Ranger Ford sold, two HiLux utes were reported to have rolled off showroom floors.

Ford Australia has previously reported to be holding more than 20,000 orders for the new Ranger line-up – and a boost in production of higher-grade Sport and Wildtrak V6 variants from October promise to boost sales towards the end of the year.

The Toyota RAV4 family SUV held third place on the sales charts – with last month's surprise second-placed finisher, the Hyundai Tucson, dropping back to fifth on the overall best-sellers list in July.

Only one passenger car made the Top 10 in July: the Toyota Corolla in sixth (1982 sales). (An earlier version of this story listed the Hyundai i30 as a Top 10 finisher, however this has been corrected).

Sales of electric vehicles only grew by 17 per cent last month compared to July 2021 – excluding Tesla, which did not report its sales for VFACTS reports last year. The total sales figure – with Tesla included – stands at 10,289.

July saw another month on the sidelines for Tesla sales in Australia, with only four vehicles reported as sold – accounting for a fraction of the 4657 vehicles it has reported as sold so far in 2022.

However, the first shipment of Tesla cars since June docked on Australian shores over the weekend – containing both a batch of Model 3 sedans, but the first customer examples of the Model Y SUV – which are due to be delivered within days.

Data below supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, and compiled by Alex Misoyannis and Paul Gover.