New vehicle sales are continuing to rise in Australia, with May delivering the biggest month for sales in 2021 and the second biggest May on record. We cracked the 100k mark for the second time this year with 100,809 sales in May, beating 92,347 sold in April, and up 68.3 per cent on the 59,894 vehicles sold in May last year (during the height of the pandemic).
These results have the industry on track to return to sales of more than one million new vehicles for the calendar year.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive Tony Weber said the result once again showed that confidence in the national economy and pent-up demand across all sectors were strong enough to counter issues related to COVID-19 uncertainties and supply chain issues.
“While we cannot be certain about the future economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation, businesses and households are showing their confidence by purchasing new vehicles.
“I expect this situation will continue to improve in the second half of this calendar year as confidence continues to grow, coupled with incentives such as the extension of the depreciation allowance for business which was announced in the Federal Budget during the month.
The Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) has repeated its advice to consumers, to “get in the queue now because the stock situation changes daily.”
“Dealers are doing the best they can to keep customers up to date but unfortunately delivery times of a lot off vehicle are repeatedly being pushed back,” said the CEO of the AADA James Voortman.
Industry insiders commented that if customers want their new car delivered before the summer holidays at the end of this year, they should place an order today due to the continued production shortages.
Booming Commercial Market
Utes filled three of the top four sales spots in May as tradies take advantage of the government stimulus packages and Australians get ready to holiday at home amid travel restrictions. Light commercial vehicle market makes up 23% of sales, with SUVs holding 53%, passenger cars at 20% and heavy commercial at 4%.
Top 10 best-selling vehicles in Australia
The Toyota HiLux is back at helm after losing out to the Ford Ranger in April. In other areas, the Isuzu D-Max is up quite a few spots, to fourth, and the Toyota Prado jumps into the top 10, into eighth spot. The top 10 best-selling vehicles in Australia during May 2021 were as follows (the figures in brackets are from the previous month):
- Toyota HiLux – 4402 (up from 4222)
- Ford Ranger – 4254 (down from 5021)
- Toyota RAV4 – 4014 (down from 4596)
- Isuzu D-Max – 3058 (up from 1999)
- Toyota LandCruiser – 2795 (up from 2595)
- Mazda CX-5 – 2768 (up from 2353)
- Mitsubishi Triton – 2317 (down from 2458)
- Toyota Prado – 2214 (up from 1370)
- Toyota Corolla – 2190 (up from 2073)
- Hyundai i30 – 2127 (up from 2005)
Photo credit: RACV
