Australian new vehicle dealers delivered more than 105,694 units in May 2023 with the industry achieving its largest sales result yet for the month.
The Toyota Hilux (5772) was the largest selling model followed by Ford Ranger (4110), Tesla Model Y (3178), Toyota RAV4 (2616) and MG ZS (2502).
This result is a 12% increase on the same month last year and represents a 2.7% increase on May 2017 which was the previous best May result according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
But the FCAI also says that many of the vehicles delivered in May 2023 were fulfilling orders placed by consumers in 2022.
The year-to-date sales total of 456,833 vehicles is 4.3% higher than the same period last year.
Every state and territory saw an increase with significant growth in Western Australia of 25% and Queensland 17% compared with May 2022. Growth was recorded in all buyer type market segments – private, business, government and rental – compared with May 2022.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says the result was encouraging following many months where deliveries were hampered by shipping and logistics issues.
“This result is a signal that we are starting to see some improvement in supply,” Weber says.
“However, not all issues are resolved, and our members continue to work with their customers to improve delivery times.”
Weber says that while vehicle supply issues might be beginning to ease, the industry remained cautious around broader economic conditions and their potential impact on demand.
“A large proportion of vehicles delivered this month would have been ordered during 2022,” Weber says.
“Since then, we have seen a shift in economic conditions with a focus on rising cost pressures for households and businesses. Nevertheless, reports from our members indicate that demand remains firm.”
Sales of battery electric vehicles were 7.7% of the market in May and are running at 7% year to date. Sales for electrified vehicles (battery electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid and hybrid) made up 15.6% of the market in May.
Toyota (18,340) was the market leader in May followed by Mazda (8475), Hyundai (7078), Kia (7000) and Ford (6251). Toyota led Mazda with a margin of 9,865 vehicle sales and 9.4 market share points.
The May 2023 market of 105,694 new vehicle sales is an increase of 11,311 vehicle sales or 12.0% against May 2022 (94,383).
There were 26.8 selling days in May 2023 compared to 25.8 in May 2022 and this resulted in an increase of 285.6 vehicle sales per day.
The passenger vehicle market is up by 868 vehicle sales (5%) over the same month last year; the SUV market is up by 7552 vehicle sales (14.7%); the LCV market is up by 2296 vehicle sales (10.7%) and the heavy commercial vehicle market is up by 595 vehicle sales (14.4%) versus May 2022.
