Interest in brand new cars is booming on carsales.com.au, latest data reveals:
– Jeep tops the growth
– Love affair with utes and SUVs accelerates
– 17 brands more than double Oct 2019 volume
– Sweet-spot pricing revealed
Interest in brand new cars is booming on carsales.com.au, latest data reveals.
Public transport concerns and a summer of auto-based travel possibilities are just two factors prompting Australian consumers to dive into the car market. And with the prices of used cars at record levels, new cars as delivering better bang for buck than ever.
In October 2020, buyer enquiries on Brand New Cars in Stock on carsales leapt a staggering 95% compared to the same month last year, while enquiries placed on brand new cars listed in the carsales New Car Showroom increased by 93%.¹
The significant uptick in new car interest was evident in the month’s FCAI VFACTS new car sales report. New car sales were up by 10% on October 2019 excluding Victoria, where Melbourne dealer showrooms were closed for business for much of the month.
“All in all, the increased car-buying activity and appreciation of used car prices spells great news for OEMs listing brand new cars for sale on carsales.com.au,” explains Agostino Giramondo, General Manager, New Car and Industry Relations at carsales.
“With manufacturer warranty, the latest equipment and safety features, Australian consumers are increasingly seeing the brand new car as the value-for-money choice on carsales.
“And we can expect to see even more interest in Australians buying a brand new car as we get closer to peak car-buying season in January,” adds Giramondo.
With new car inventory set to improve, trading conditions are on the up for new car sales in Australia and brands advertising brand new cars to Australia’s largest and most engaged car-buying audience on carsales.com.au.
US brands lead enquiry growth
It was iconic US brands that topped the growth charts on carsales in October.
Buoyed by prominent above-the-line activity, enquiries in Jeep new cars in October 2020 increased by a whopping 412% compared to the same month in 2019, as consumers turned to carsales take a closer look at the brand’s revitalised model range.¹
Meantime, Australia’s growing interest in full-size pick-ups sent enquiries in brand new RAMs up 333% year-on-year.¹
Other major brands to register big increases include Audi (+221%), Isuzu Ute (202%), Mitsubishi (+199%), Peugeot (+186%), Subaru (137%), Renault (127%), Kia (122%) and Volkswagen (+120%).¹
In total, 17 brands saw their enquiry volumes more than double compared to October 2019, while 60 brands realised positive growth.
Suzuki Jimny, Isuzu D-Max X-TERRAIN and Toyota LandCruiser GXL occupied the podium of most-enquired on new cars in the carsales New Car Showroom in October. Indeed, the top ten was dominated by utes and dual-cabs including Mitsubishi Triton GLX, Ford Ranger Sport and Nissan Navara ST, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium, Mitsubishi Triton GLX-R and Toyota HiLux Workmate.
In terms of body style, enquiries on brand new utes and SUVs spiked 212% and 88% in October 2020, compared to the same month in 2019.¹
The prospect of warmer weather and more day trips has also generated greater interest in convertibles in 2020, with enquiries on brand-new drop-tops up 25% year-on-year.¹
Enquiries on the ever-popular hatch body style also increased by 42% respectively.¹
Even wagons, long replaced by SUVs as the family vehicle of choice, saw enquiry growth 10% year-on-year.¹
Sweet-spot price point revealed
Australians love premium brands and highly-specified SUVs and LCVs, so its little surprise that brand new cars priced between $40K-$70K saw the greatest level of enquiry growth.¹
In fact, brand-new cars priced between $40K-$50K, $50K-$60K and $60K-70K all generated more than double the volume of enquiries last month, compared to October 2019.
Brand new cars in more affordable $20K-$30K and $30K-$40K price brackets were also in high demand, realising growth of 55% and 91% respectively.¹
Post the major COVID related lockdowns, Australia’s interest in all things automotive has driven carsales traffic to record levels. carsales.com.au’s Unique Audience in October was up 32% year-on-year to 4.75M.¹
“carsales Editorial’s Unique Audience – another key indicator of consumer interest in brand new cars – was up by over 50% year-on-year in October to 1.15M¹,” Agostino adds.
“The huge growth in unique editorial audience further illustrates the shift to brand new cars.
“With just one click on carsales, these consumers can transition from researching a new car to browsing brand new examples for sale,” concludes Agostino.
Source: 1. carsales internal data, October 2020
