A snapshot of car sales analytics in the Australian car market

Despite a national decrease in car sales in recent years, the Australian car market is thriving when you take cars sold per person into consideration. In this snapshot of the country's car market, we'll take a close look at some of the car sales analytics and numbers out there, which can give you a better picture of the industry's performance.

How many cars are sold per year in Australia?

Australia is responsible for approximately 1.1 million car sales every year, and it's been at this rate for the last seven years. This trend largely began around 2011 when the country made around 1.008 million car sales. By 2014, that number had reached 1.113 million, and the number kept increasing from there. 2019 was a particularly difficult year for the car market, with sales slumping to the lowest level since 2011, but that year still saw 1,062,867 car sales.

Ultimately, over the last seven years, Australia sold over 8 million new vehicles, which is impressive for a country with a population of around 24 million. In other words, 30 per cent of Australians purchased a new vehicle over seven years.
As the car market continues to recover in a post-pandemic world, these numbers are likely to increase, which is great news for both automakers and dealerships that use car sales analytics to plan their business strategies.

The most popular cars

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries publishes monthly reports of the top-selling vehicles in Australia. For 2021, As of October, the report detailed the following top 10 most popular vehicles:

1. Toyota Hilux
2. Ford Ranger
3. Toyota RAV4
4. Toyota Corolla
5. Hyundai i30
6. Isuzu D-Max
7. Mazda CX-5
8. Toyota Prado
9. Mitsubishi Triton
10. MG ZS

Car sales by brand

When it comes to vehicles sold by brand in 2021, Toyota once again topped the list, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The full list includes:

1. Toyota
2. Mazda
3. Hyundai
4. Ford
5. Kia
6. Mitsubishi
7. Nissan
8. Volkswagen
9. MG
10. Subaru

Toyota was the top-selling brand for the 25th straight year, selling 223,642 vehicles in 2021, including the Toyota HiLux, RAV4, Corolla, LandCruiser wagon, and Camry.

The second was Mazda with 101,119 sales, making it the only other Original Equipment Manufacturer to hit above 100,000 annual sales. Hyundai snared third with 72,872, just edging Ford (71,380) into fourth place. 

The most trusted car brands

A recent report from Roy Morgan investigated car brand trust in 2020 based on certain car sales analytics. Specifically, Roy Morgan looked at ratings from Australian consumers throughout the pandemic to determine which car brands they trusted the most. The report concluded that although many people lost trust in the automotive sector in the middle of the pandemic, car brands Tesla and Ford managed to maintain a certain level of trust among consumers.

In fact, the report revealed that Tesla saw the highest level of improvement in 2020. It climbed to the 26th ranking spot after taking the 43rd spot the year before. As a result, it ranked second in the car market. Ford moved up seven places to secure 79th place in brand rankings, with an automotive ranking of seventh place.

The Roy Morgan report listed the top-ranking trusted car brands in the automotive sector as follows:

1. Toyota
2. Tesla
3. Mazda
4. Honda
5. Subaru
6. Mercedes-Benz
7. Ford
8. Hyundai
9. Kia

The main reason Roy Morgan believes Tesla saw increased trust in 2020 was that the brand stood for high quality, innovation, and progress. In addition, people perceived the brand as eco-friendly. Meanwhile, Ford's surge in trust among consumers likely came down to the brand's reputation for quality, reliability, safety, customer service, and responsibility.

What the future holds for the Australian car market

Recent car sales analytics clearly show that the automotive sector is making a recovery after a particularly difficult year in 2020. Research and Markets found that electric vehicles, in particular, are likely to see increased popularity in 2022 and the years ahead.

Research and Markets believe this growth in the car market is the result of increased purchasing power along with strong consumer demand, leading to pre-pandemic levels of recovery. However, their report also determined that the industry faces certain risks. These include recent semiconductor and other material shortages, supply chain disruption, and fluctuating consumer demand, among other issues.

Some of the biggest trends shaping the future of the car market include technological advancements, ever-changing customer preferences, smart infrastructure, regulatory interventions, and innovations in automotive business intelligence, among many others.

Generally, the industry's future looks brighter; the car market will continue to rise out of the slump resulting from the pandemic. As customers spend more time on the road and put their trust in some of the top automakers, including Toyota, Tesla, and Ford, car sales are only going to continue increasing.  Subsequently, car brands and dealerships are likely to flourish in the coming years as demand and spending power both increase.

If you want your dealership to be prepared for the future, it's important to have the right tools that facilitate growth and the right insight into car sales analytics. With the help of SalesLogs’s automotive business intelligence software, you can make sure your dealership isn't left behind. Book a demo to learn more about our solution's unique capabilities.