New car sales hit a speed bump in the past month as supply issues push waiting times for some popular models up to 10 months.
Australian new cars sales have taken a dive in October as supply shortage bites.
A total of 74,650 new cars found a home in October, which is a drop of more than eight per cent compared to the same month in 2020 despite large chunks of the country being freed from Covid-19 induced lockdown.
The drop in sales is attributed to a supply crunch caused by a shortage of semiconductors, which are a vital component in new cars.
Overall the new car market is on track to top one million sales for 2021 after a horror 2020 saw it slip below that line for the first time since 2009.
Tony Weber, the head of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said the issue isn’t limited to Australia but is a global problem.
“Automotive manufacturers like all those in the global manufacturing sector are dealing with a microprocessor shortage which is leading to longer wait times to get products to market. Australians are continuing to purchase vehicles, and car makers are working to deliver products to our shores,” said Weber.
Toyota was again the best selling car maker in the nation, but recent production line stoppages overseas meant it sold 4000 fewer vehicles in October this year than the corresponding period in 2020.
Some of Toyota’s most popular vehicles such as the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and LandCruiser 70-Series have wait list stretching back 10 months, while other models have wait times of up to six months.
Mazda took a big hit in October selling 5181 vehicles, which is more than 2000 fewer cars than last year.
It also meant for the first time in a long while the Japanese company wasn’t the second best selling brand in Australia.
That award went to Hyundai (6115), which was one of the few brands to have positive growth in the past month.
Ford’s Ranger ute was the best selling vehicle in the country, moving 4135 units. This was followed by the Toyota HiLux (3961) and the Toyota LandCruiser 4WD (2031).
SUVs continue to prove popular with Aussies making up more than 47 per cent of sales in October.
The bestsellers were the Toyota RAV4 (1670), Hyundai Tucson (1532), Mitsubishi ASX (1464) and the Nissan X-Trail.
Chinese maker MG appears to be having no supply issues with its sales growing by more than 86 per cent in October.
This was led by strong sales of its MG3 small hatchback and ZS small SUV.
The emerging brand has cemented its position as one of the 10 best selling marques in the country.
Great Wall Motors, which also encompasses the Haval brand, was up a whopping 304 per cent with 1692 sales.
Sales of electric cars continue to grow, rising almost 150 per cent in October. This is off a very low base and only amounts to 461 vehicles. These figures would be higher, but Tesla – the nation’s most popular EV brand – does not report its sales publicly.
The Mercedes-Benz EQA was one of the best selling electric cars in the nation.
Mr Weber said local incentives from state governments were helping make electric car ownership more achievable.
“We have seen Victoria and NSW release comprehensive legislation to support electric vehicles which was followed just last week by South Australia,” said Weber.
“All of these jurisdictions worked proactively with industry to provide infrastructure investment and consumer incentives,” he said.
TOP 10 SELLING VEHICLES IN OCTOBER
Ford Ranger – 4135
Toyota HiLux – 3961
Toyota LandCruiser – 2031
Toyota Corolla – 1989
Hyundai i30 – 1946
Isuzu D-Max – 1694
Toyota RAV4 – 1670
Hyundai Tucson – 1532
Mitsubishi ASX – 1464
Nissan X-Trail – 1420
TOP 10 SELLING BRANDS IN OCTOBER
Toyota – 15,395
Hyundai – 6115
Ford – 5462
Mazda – 5181
Kia – 4853
Mitsubishi – 4203
Nissan – 3397
MG – 3136
Volkswagen – 2912
Subaru – 2736
Originally published as Australia’s best selling new cars in October revealed
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