Survey Finds Australians’ Car-Buying Fever Breaking

Australian’s record-breaking rush to dealerships may be slowing, with a new survey finding car- buying intention has eased.

Roy Morgan Research says consumer confidence is often a key driver of car-buying intention and Australians are less confident about their finances now than they were at the beginning of 2017.

But the firm hastens to add that while intention may have weakened, the automotive industry remains in great shape with an estimated 622,000 Australians planning to buy a new car in the next 12 months.

Also, 2.28 million Australians intend to buy a new car in the next four years – down from a record of 2.49 million in February but still 15,000 ahead of the year-ago figure.

Bob Heneghan, automotive account manager for Roy Morgan Research, says Australia’s new-car market started 2017 by setting new records for the number of new-car intenders.

“The recent downturn has been reflected in lower numbers of passenger and commercial vehicles intenders, but SUV intention has continued growing, adding another 30,000 intenders since January,” he says.

“If Australia’s love affair with SUV’s continues at this pace, we could see SUVs overtaking passenger vehicles as the nation’s favorite vehicle within the next 12 months.”

That already may be happening.

VFACTS data shows first-half SUV sales were up 5.0% to 233,498 units, putting them ahead of the new-car segment, down 6.8% at 230,267 units. Total Australian light-vehicle sales in the first half were up 0.2% at 599,582 units.