VFACTS: March 2022

A total of 101,233 new vehicles were sold in March 2022 taking the year-to-date total to 262,436 – down 0.5 per cent on the 2021 sum over the same period. Although the March figures show a moderate sales increase of 1.2 per cent when compared to the same month in 2021, this month was driven by dealers filling orders for new vehicles placed over the past year. 
 
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive, Tony Weber said,  

“This is historically a unique time in which supply rather than demand is determining the size of the market. This is due to manufacturers recovering from the pandemic-related shutdowns and the ongoing global shortage of micro processing units.” 

Wait times for most new cars still range anywhere from three to 12 months, and dealers are now providing broader ETAs to avoid customer disappointment. 

“Consumer inquiries and demand for new cars remains strong. Manufacturers are working hard to match this demand with supply,”  Mr Weber added. 

EV Sales Results 

Australians have been purchasing zero and low emission vehicles in greater numbers, with Tesla and Polestar sales figures being reported for the first time.  

After years of keeping its sales figures a secret, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, will from 5 April 2022 publish up-to-date information in the official new-car sales data compiled by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. 

“The addition of Polestar and Tesla further cements VFACTS as the premier source of new motor vehicle sales data in Australia,”

said Mr Weber. He also noted that in interpreting the data for March 2022, care should be taken as the Tesla data represents the company sales for the first three months of 2022. 

Tesla officially recorded 4417 sales, with the Model 3 monthly sales figure taking fifth place for Australia’s top selling vehicle in March, an all-time high for electric vehicles. The Polestar reported 115 new vehicles sold for the month of March, thus totalling the sales to 6752 electric vehicles for this year so far, or 2.6 per cent of the 262,436 new vehicles that have been delivered in the first three months of 2022. 

Sales of petrol-electric hybrid cars – driven by the market leader Toyota, increased by 27.6 per cent with 20,585 vehicles reported as sold in the first three months of 2022. Hybrid cars now comprise of one third of new Toyotas sold in Australia. Petrol car sales have declined by 11.8 per cent with 135,504 vehicles sold in the first three months of this year. 

State Sales Statistics 

· Tasmanian sales increased by 8.2 per cent with 1,768 vehicles sold on 2021 figures.  

· Victorian sales increased by 5.3 per cent with 27,155 vehicles sold.  

· Western Australia sales increased by 5.3 per cent with 10,016 vehicles sold.  

· Australian Capital Territory sales decreased by 6.2 per cent with 1,560 vehicles sold.  

· New South Wales sales decreased by 0.8 per cent with 32,224 sold.  

· Northern Territory sales decreased by 0.2 per cent with 916 vehicles sold.  

· Queensland sales decreased by 1.7 per cent with 21,214 vehicles sold  

· South Australian sales decreased by 0.1 per cent with 6,380 vehicles sold.