DESPITE a drop in monthly sales for the month of June, the Australian new vehicle market remains strong, with 2024 sales remaining ahead of figures to the same time in 2023.
Figures for June showed 119,659 new vehicles were delivered, including 5,160 commercial vans and trucks, although this was a decrease of 5,267 for June 2023.
While the monthly figures showed a decrease, the 2024 H1 totals (representing the first six months of the year) remain above the same period in 2023.
Tony Weber, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) was upbeat about the results, saying the market showed resilience in the face of household economic pressures.
“The end of the financial year has traditionally been a strong month for vehicle sales and achieving 632,412 sales in just six months is a testament to the resilience of the market," Mr Weber said.
Discussing the results for motorcycles and Off Highway Vehicles (OHV), Mr Weber said the first six months of 2024 were 'challenging' for the motorcycle industry.
“The results highlight the economic pressures impacting Australian households including cost of living increases and interest rate rises. We continue to monitor economic conditions and their potential impact on sales across all market segments,” Mr Weber said.
Tony McMullan, CEO of the Truck Industry Council (TIC) was more guarded in his analysis of the commercial vehicle market, saying there was evidence inflationary pressures were 'starting to bite'.
In his quarterly market report, Mr McMullan said the June 2024 result was down more than 14% on June 2023, although the result remained the second highest June sales figure on record.
"All truck segments, Light, Medium and Heavy were down over June last year, whilst van sales were up for the month," Mr McMullan said.
"Year-to-date sales are tracking just slightly below those for the first six months of 2023, with 24,075 truck and van sales this year, compared with 24,395 to the same point last year," Mr McMullan said.
"Whilst June 2024 sales were down, it must be remembered that they were the second best result ever recorded for the month of June in Australia."
Pointing to a general 'cooling' of the economy as a possible reason for the slowing in the market, Mr McMullan said the next six months would provide a better picture of the situation.
"We have seen our economy cooling for many months now and this slower June result may be as a result of the general economic slowdown that we are witnessing across the Australian economy.
"However, it may be simply have been a slower month due to other externalities and does not signal an overall trend.
"The coming months will confirm if heavy vehicle sales have reached a peak for the time being and the market continues to cool, or if June was simply an isolated slower month.”
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