Australia’s favourite cars are harder to buy than ever with shortages seeing some customers wait more than a year for their new vehicles.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the peak body for Australia’s car industry, released data on Tuesday showing Australia’s new car sales in June were down almost 10 per cent compared to June last year.
FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said the drop in sales was due to ongoing shortages in the sector.
‘Globally, car makers are continuing to suffer from plant shutdowns. In Europe we have component supply heavily impacted by the conflict in Ukraine,’ he said.
‘Microprocessors continue to be in short supply and global shipping remains unpredictable.
‘While demand for new cars remains strong in Australia, it is unlikely we will see supply chain issues resolve in the near future.’
The Toyota HiLux (pictured, 2022 model) was the most popular car model with 7,582 sold in June – but shortages mean most buyers won’t see one until at least January 2023
In particular, Covid outbreaks and recent harsh lockdowns in Shanghai, China, have driven the microchip shortage by restricting manufacturing.
Dan Hutcheson, an expert from TechInsights, a company that follows the automotive industry’s computer-chip shortage, told Wired the vital micro-tech is ‘the new toilet paper’.
The FCAI found the Toyota HiLux was the most popular model in June with 7,582 sold.
It was followed by the Hyundai Tucson at 2,840; Ford Ranger at 2,802; Toyota Landcruiser at 2,783 and Toyota Corolla at 2,605.
The top selling brands were Toyota at 22,561; Kia at 8,480; Hyundai at 8,259; Mazda at 6,245 and Mitsubishi at 5,846.
However, buyers of the new cars today were unlikely to receive their vehicles until next year due.
Before Covid, the average wait time for a new car was just 30 days, but now staff and supply shortages and continued demand has driven the average new car wait time to an average of 155 days.
Toyota has the third longest waiting time in Australia with some customers waiting 235 days for their new vehicle, data from Price My Car shows.
Kia, June’s second-highest selling brand, warned customers they could wait up to 182 days for their new car.
Mazda boasts the shortest wait-time of the top five sellers, with new vehicles taking an average of 90 days and Mazda 3 models taking just 67 days.
Wait times for popular brands are being driven up by microchip shortages caused by overseas Covid lockdowns and the Ukraine war
The Hyundai Tucson (pictured, 2022 model) was the second-most sold car the June, 2022, with an average wait time of 110 days
Renault claims both the shortest brand wait time and shortest model wait time with the average Renault car taking 19 days to arrive and the Renault Captur taking 10 days.
States also differ by wait time with new cars taking an average of 317 days to arrive in Western Australia compared to just 50 days in Tasmania.
The ACT had the second shortest wait time of 104 days while New South Wales had the second longest at 170 days.
Australian dealerships reportedly began emailing former customers in early June asking to buy back sold cars in a desperate attempt to secure stock amid shortages.
In June car unspecified dealerships were reportedly emailing former customers and private car sellers to purchase vehicles in an attempt to hold on to stock amid car shortages
A News South Wales car dealership sent an email to former customers offering cash for cars sold several years ago, The Guardian reported.
‘We are paying top dollar for your vehicle and even better, you will RECEIVE the money SAME DAY! How good is that?’ the email said.
People selling their vehicles privately through Facebook Marketplace said they were also contacted by dealerships offering to buy.
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