The Australian Automotive Dealer Association and AutoGrab have released the first annual Automotive Insights Report (AIR) for the 2023 calendar year.
The data shows that 2,074,535 used cars were sold in Australia in 2023, with a strong used car supply aligning with the record year for new vehicle sales.
“This data demonstrates the significance of the used car market in Australia with more than two million used cars sold in 2023. For every new car sold 1.7 used cars were sold, confirming that most Australians are deciding to purchase used cars,” AADA chief executive James Voortman says.
“The combined new and used car market saw almost 3.3 million cars sold in 2023 and it is important for industry participants, regulators and policymakers to look at the entire market when making decisions” he says.
“The demand for used cars remained robust in 2023, attributed to our growing population and cost of living pressures reducing buying power,” AutoGrab chief commercial officer Saxon Odgers says.
“The good news for those looking to purchase a used car is that we’ve seen a clear downward price trajectory since March 2023 following a surge of new vehicle supply, with this pattern anticipated to persist through the first half of 2024. This represents a win for consumers who now have a choice when looking to buy their next car as new cars are available for delivery and used cars are more accessible,” Odgers says.
The Automotive Insights Report shows that for 2023:
- Across Australia 2,013,465 vehicles were listed for sale in 2023 and in that period 2,074,535 were sold.
- Exceptional demand for used cars, with 34.4% growth since January, hitting its peak in November 2023.
- Petrol and Diesel Vehicles accounted for more than 96% of used car sales, with Hybrids, (2.7%), EVs (0.7%) and PHEVs (0.1%) growing off a low base.
- Toyota was the top-selling used car brand with a 16.6% market share, followed by Mazda (8.2%) and Ford (8%).
- The Ford Ranger was the top-selling vehicle with 65,938 units, pipping the Toyota Hilux (65,852) by only 86 units.
- Used car prices declined 1 to 1.5% monthly, which was accompanied by a rise in days to sell.
- The used EV market saw an almost doubling in supply and sales. However, EVs represent only 0.7% of the market share; have below-average retained value; and take longer to sell than petrol and diesel cars.
“Congratulations to Toyota for being the top-selling used car brand in 2023 and to the Ford Ranger for narrowly beating off the Toyota Hilux to claim the mantle of Australia’s top-selling used car for the year,” Voortman says.
“When diving into retained values of vehicles, a topic that interests many consumers and dealers, we can see that across all age groups, Utes and light commercial vehicles held their values above the average. Passenger vehicles across all age groups tracked close to the average, while SUVs were the worst performing vehicle segments in terms of retained value, sitting well below average for all age groups,” he says.
