Australians less confident about their finances now than at the start of the year may be putting off buying a new car.
The record numbers of intending new car buyers at the start of this year have not continued mid-year, with a softening shown in the latest Roy Morgan Research results.
Yet the automotive industry remains in great shape despite the levelling off in intent, the company says.
An estimated 622,000 Australians still plan to buy a new car in the next year, and 2.279 million Australians intend to buy a new car in the next four years. That’s down from a record of 2,490,000 in February, but almost 15,000 ahead compared to the result last year, Roy Morgan Research notes about its May survey.
“Australia’s new car market started 2017 by setting new records for the number of new car intenders. Some of that momentum has since stalled – following a decline in the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index – especially amongst those with plans to buy in the next four years, Roy Morgan Research automotive account manager Rob Heneghan says.
“Market analysis using Roy Morgan’s Helix Personas segmentation shows that one of the biggest drops in buying intention has been amongst the most affluent groups – Leading Lifestyles. This affluent group traditionally makes up the largest portion of new car intenders, with a strong preference for Japanese brands such as Toyota, Mazda and Subaru.
“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. If Australia’s love affair with SUVs continues at this pace, we could see SUVs overtaking passenger vehicles as the nation’s favourite vehicle within the next 12 months.”
June followed May as another good month for new car sales in Australia.
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