Industry Sales Results
Industry Sales Results

SUVs top buyer preferences: survey

Survey says... the same thing as our sales data. People want crossovers


Data from research body, Roy Morgan, has confirmed what VFACTS data is already telling us: Australian new car buyers prefer high-riding crossovers to passenger cars.

According to the latest release from Roy Morgan, which covers the three months ending February 2018, a total of 2.23 million Australians are planning to buy a car in the next four years – down on 2.55 million from the same period last year.

In news that won't be surprising to many of our readers, the majority of buyers are looking for SUVs, followed by four-door sedans and five-door hatchbacks.

Of the people surveyed for December, January and February 2018, 30 per cent more people were keen to purchase an SUV than a four-door sedan, and almost twice as many people preferred the SUV body style to five-door hatchbacks.

"Over the last decade or more, there has been considerable growth in the new vehicle market with rising intention of purchasing a new car in the next four years, but we are now seeing a softening in the market," said Norman Morris, Roy Morgan industry communications director.

“We have already seen some early signs of changes in this industry, particularly in the very rapid changes in body style preference, the move away from four- and five-door cars to SUVs."

These findings match closely with the trends emerging in VFACTS sales data. Last month, 42.6 per cent of vehicles sold in Australia were SUVs, followed by 33.8 per cent passenger cars and 20.5 light commercials.

The best-selling small SUV was the Mitsubishi ASX, with the Nissan X-Trail winning the medium category and the Toyota Prado winning the large segment.

UPDATE: The paragraph beginning with "Of the people" has been reworded for clarity. 

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