VFACTS January 2024: Yet another record month for new-car sales

New motor vehicle sales in Australia posted their 10th month in a row of growth – and a new January record – after setting an all-time best annual result last year.

Despite another record month, analysts say a slowdown is still on the horizon – and a decline in demand that began to appear early in 2023 is closer to catching up with deliveries.

Data published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) – the peak body for new-car makers – reports 89,782 new vehicles as sold in January 2024, up 5.8 per cent on the 84,873 deliveries reported the same month last year.

However this time last year the car industry was amidst a quarantine crisis that – as of early February 2023 – saw more than 60,000 vehicles stranded on ships waiting to offload and be cleaned of potential biosecurity hazards such as seeds and pests.

It meant – in a year that would go on to break the annual sales record by 2.3 per cent – new-car sales in January 2023 were down 4.2 per cent on the January record set in 2017.

Without the challenges faced this time last year, the January 2024 results could have shown a reduction in sales, rather than an increase – which would reflect of a drop in demand first reported nine to 12 months ago, as interest-rate increases hit their peak.

Dealers representing car companies hardest-hit by delivery delays and production slowdowns over the past 18 months have previously said they are clearing their order books faster than they are taking new deposits.

Early in 2023 new-car dealers warned of a notable decrease in showroom traffic at the same time as official sales results – which reflect how many vehicles are delivered, rather than orders written – started to break records in consecutive months.

Customers who were quoted wait times of 18 months in mid to late 2022 would now be taking delivery of their vehicle.

"It’s good to see that the market has grown from the same time last year, but it must be said that this does not reflect current consumer interest as many of the cars that were delivered in January still reflect orders placed many months ago as dealers clear the remnants of the COVID era backlog," James Voortman, CEO of the Australian Automotive Dealer Association, told Drive.

The true demand for new cars may not appear for a few more months, as deliveries in February and March last year were between up 1.8 per cent, and down 2.7 per cent on the same months the year prior – and were down about 9 to 10 per cent on the all-time records for those months.

Last month's result is up 1.4 per cent on the all-time January record of 88,551 sales set in 2018.

Toyota has entered 2024 as the top-selling new-car brand – a position it has held for 21 calendar years in a row – with 17,903 sales.

Its deliveries are up 34 per cent on January 2023 – when it began to face production slowdowns that would last until mid-year – and it accounted for about a quarter of new-car sales.

It was followed by Mazda (8165 sales, down 13.2 per cent) – and Ford, which managed to post an identical 6624 deliveries to the same month the prior year.

Tesla slumped to 19th place – outsold by Chinese electric-car rival BYD – with just 1107 deliveries, likely affected by a batch of Model Y SUVs being sent back to China after stink bugs were discovered on board.

There were two Chinese car makers in the Top 10, MG in seventh with 4006 sales (down 0.2 per cent), and GWM (Great Wall Motor) in ninth with 3124 deliveries (up 24.8 per cent).

After ending the Toyota HiLux's seven-year winning streak last year, the Ford Ranger remained the top-selling new motor vehicle, with 4747 deliveries (down 0.04 per cent year-on-year) – ahead of the HiLux's 4092 sales.

In third place was the Isuzu D-Max, ahead of the Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander. There were two traditional passenger cars in the Top 10, the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30.

Electric-vehicle sales tallied 4893 in January 2024, up only 0.8 per cent on the prior year – well behind the 9821 hybrids reported as sold last month – due to a sales slump for Tesla, including just 384 Model Y SUVs.

However electric cars account for 5.4 per cent of new-vehicle deliveries – down on the 5.4 per cent share they held in the second half of 2023.

Data below supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), and compiled by Alex Misoyannis and Kez Casey.