January 2025 new car sales report

Aussies aren’t going to be buying new cars in record numbers any longer because of several critical issues.

Shipping delays and cost-of-living concerns put the brakes on car sales in January.

The car industry reported a 3.3 year-on-year decline in January, with industry experts tipping that 2025 will fall short of last year’s record of 1,237,287 new cars.

Portside strikes by stevedores prevented cars from being offloaded at major ports in December and January, which delayed deliveries in the first month of this year.

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Port strikes slowed deliveries of new cars. Photo: AFP / China OUT

Tony Weber, chief executive for the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, said the market remains flat and that “economic conditions remained a major consideration for consumers in all market segments”.

Executives at Toyota and Kia have predicted that sales will be softer in 2025.

Mr Weber said low consumer confidence in EVs will hurt sales for manufacturers with increasingly green portfolios crafted by government green vehicle policies.

Tesla sales fell from 2927 deliveries in January 2023 to 1107 deliveries in 2024 and 739 last month.

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A new Tesla Model Y is just around the corner. Picture: Supplied

While the brand’s best selling car, the Tesla Model Y, is effectively in run-out mode ahead of a new model’s imminent arrival, it is possible that high-profile political activity by company co-founder Elon Musk has turned buyers off.

Electric vehicle analyst Giles Parkinson at The Driven suggests “there is increasing evidence that the actions of Musk … is having an impact”.

Bad news, including its looming merger with Honda, didn’t slow Nissan down, with the brand recording a 12.4 per cent uptick in sales.

Likewise, Ford (up 3.1 per cent) Mazda (1.9 per cent), GWM (9.9 per cent) and Toyota (2.9 per cent) will be celebrating successful performances.

That might not be the case for companies that recorded year-on-year declines, including MG (-6.6 per cent) Hyundai (-11.1 per cent), Volkswagen (-14.8 per cent) and Jeep (-49.6 per cent).

Popular utes such as the Ford Ranger (-10.4 per cent), Toyota HiLux (-19.3 per cent) and Isuzu D-Max (-17.9 per cent) also fell in popularity.

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Vehicle imports from Japan (up 7.9 per cent) rose following a strong month for Toyota and Mazda, while Germany (up 13.8 per cent) rode home a strong result for Mercedes (up 26 per cent).

But imports from China (-6.9 per cent), South Korea (-12.7 per cent) and Thailand (-8.2 per cent) fell on the back of poor months for Tesla, Hyundai and a variety of dual-cab utes.

The industry faces several important challenges this year, including a looming Federal Election, increasingly strict emissions requirements and red tape that has stopped the sale of popular models.

Originally published as January 2025 new car sales report