Australians are buying 57 more vehicles each day compared to last year, according to the latest data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).
Overall, 85,340 vehicles were sold in February, a year-on-year increase of 1.6%, or 56.8 vehicles more every day.
Toyota was the market leader in February 2022 with 20,886 vehicles sold. Toyota was followed by Mazda with 8,782, Mitsubishi with 7,813, Kia with 5,881 and Hyundai came in fifth place with 5,649.
The popularity of SUVs can be seen in the figures with a substantial year-on-year increase of 2,284 SUV sales in February. The sports utility market registered 44,935 sales, a rise of 5.4% on last February’s total.
Passenger vehicle sales fell 18.3% or 3,509 cars against last February’s numbers. Its total sale of 15,685 is also 52 fewer than sold in January.
This is counterbalanced by strong year-on-year results for commercial vehicles, illustrating continued economic confidence:
- Light commercial vehicles: +12.3% with 2,383 additional sales
- Heavy commercial vehicles: + 7.3% with 205 additional sales
Buyers in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are leading the charge for new vehicles.
Falls in overall demand were registered in NSW (-3.5%), ACT (-2.6%), Western Australia (-1.7%) and Northern Territory (-5.6%).
However, the following states produce stronger results across all vehicle categories:
- Victoria: +5.5% with 22,177 sales
- Queensland: +3.8% up with 18,962 sales
- South Australia: +8.9% with 5,810 sales
- Tasmania: + 16.6% with 1,561 sales
FCAI Chief Executive Tony Webber said the increases occurred despite dealers continuing to suffer supply chain challenges.
“Global supply chains for microprocessor units are still some distance from full recovery,” he said. “So, we’re pleased with the small increase on February 2021 figures.
“Consumer demand for new cars remains strong, and manufacturers are continuing to work hard to get cars into the hands of motorists.”
With 4,803 sales, the Toyota Hilux remained the top seller, followed by the RAV4, which achieved 4,454 sales.
Mazda’s Triton SUV registered 3,811 sales to be the third-most-popular vehicle in Australia. The Ford Ranger (3,455) and Toyota’s Prado (2,778) were the fourth and fifth most purchased vehicles.
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