Victoria becomes only state to gain in October

LOCKDOWNS hit new-car sales in NSW and the ACT during October but, despite its own restrictions, Victoria was the only Australian state or territory that managed to record a gain in the month compared with October 2020.

Data from Datium Insights reflects what most observers expected from the lockdowns and other pandemic-related restrictions that applied to NSW and the ACT, but the Victorian result was a bit of a surprise.

Datium said that Victoria was the only state that showed an increase, up six per cent in October 2021 compared with October 2020, and a year-on-year result up 33 per cent.

October saw 74,650 new vehicles sold – as reported by VFACTS – which was down eight per cent compared with the same month in 2020.

The negative result was triggered by notable losses in NSW and the ACT, which were down 12 per cent and 22 per cent respectively year-on-year.

Sales declines for the month were a dip in an otherwise buoyant year, during which only the ACT has recorded a year-on-year fall, down 20.2 per cent for the 10 months compared with the same period in 2020.

By contrast, the Northern Territory was up 37.3 per cent year-to-date and Victoria showed its resilience by being 32.6 per cent up, with NSW 13.8 per cent higher.

Key vehicle models supported this year’s strength.

Datium reported that the Top five models with the greatest sales increases in the first 10 months of 2021 are:

1. MG ZS – up 11,516 units

2. Isuzu Ute D-Max – up 8855 units

3. Ford Ranger 4X4 – up 8106 units

4. Toyota Hilux 4X4 – up 7779 units

5. Toyota Yaris Cross – up 6697 units   

However, what goes up usually accompanies those that go down. The report showed that the five models with the biggest sales falls so far in 2021 are:

1. Volkswagen Golf – down 7211 units

2. Honda Civic – down 3174 units

3. Mercedes-Benz GLC – down 2522 units

4. Honda CR-V – down 2396 units

5. Audi A3 – down 2086 units

It should be noted that sales performance of the Golf, Civic and A3 were all subject to new-generation replacements arriving during this year and early next.

This year, the most popular segment by sales compared with 2020 according to the Datium report are:

1. SUV Light – up 102 per cent

2. Passenger Micro – up 77 per cent 

3. People Movers (< $60K) – up 45 per cent

4. Vans/CC (2.5-3.5t) – up 41 per cent 

5. SUV Small (< $40K) – up 39 per cent

Conversely, some of the largest decreases are:

1. Passenger Large (< $70K) – down 32 per cent

2. Vans/CC (<= 2.5t) – down 28 per cent

3. Passenger Upper Large (< $100K) – down 23 per cent

4. Light Buses (=> 20 Seats) – down 23 per cent

5. Passenger Small (> $40K) – down 23 per cent

Datium also noted that market leader Toyota had slightly loosened its grip on the market, with other models from Isuzu and Mazda making some ground.

Chinese brand MG is making headway, its ZS, MG3 and HS models seeing substantial increase in 2021 while Chinese brand GWM (formerly Great Wall) has also sold well with its 4X4 Ute moving 5693 units so far this year.

Datium also noted that passenger vehicles continue to record the slowest recovery in sales in 2021 (up five per cent), particularly in small (down five per cent), medium (down two per cent) and upper large segments (down 11 per cent).

In buyer segments, Datium said that the rental market has experienced strong growth, up 21,973 units (or 88 per cent) compared to 2020, while private sales are up 19 per cent.

Datium said that the rise in private sales shows they now make up more than 50 per cent of all sales in the market, with dealers gaining higher margins on these types of sales.