Bad new brewing for some of AUstralia’s favourite car brands

The Australian new car market is in steep decline this year and the latest data shows that those intending to buy a new car in the next four years are set to abandon some well known brands.

There is a storm brewing on the horizon for some of Australia’s favourite car brands.

New data from Roy Morgan details Australia’s car buying intentions and predicts that demand will plummet for popular mainstream brands.

The survey, which polls about 50,000 Australians every year, showed Toyota was the most likely brand to be bought by those intending to buy a new car in the next four years.

The Japanese brand is likely to gobble up about 17 per cent of the intended buyers. That would be bad news for the country’s most popular brand, which currently has more than 19 per cent of the new car market.

Toyota is the most dominant new car brand in Australia.

The future looks less than rosy for Mitsubishi, as the research showed only 2.4 per cent of those surveyed intended to buy one. The Japanese brand is currently the fourth most popular make in the country with 7.8 per cent of the market and more than 69,000 sales so far this year.

Mazda and Hyundai — the second and third most popular brands — are also predicted to lose market share. The research indicated that each had 8.7 and 7.6 per cent of intended buyers which is almost a full percentage point drop.

Holden is having a tough time as it transitions from a local manufacturer to selling a fully imported range. Roy Morgan data shows only 3.6 per cent of those surveyed were thinking of buying a Holden, which is well below its current market share of 4.2 per cent.

The survey showed Mitsubishi had very few potential buyers.

The head of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Tony Weber says there are some major concerns in the Australian new car market with all areas struggling.

“Year to date sales of new motor vehicles in 2019 are almost 78,000 units (eight per cent) lower than the same period in 2018,” he says.

“Of particular interest is the fact that sales are down across all buyer types, with private sales down 5.2 per cent compared to October 2018, business sales down 8.2 per cent and government sales down 7.3 per cent.”

The survey predicts buyers will turn to luxury marques in the future and says all the major prestige players are showing increased interest.

Mercedes-Benz would be the biggest winner if they managed to convert these intended buyers with 3.8 per cent of all surveyed keen on a three-pointed star. This is well above its current market share of 2.9 per cent.

The research showed that buyers wanted luxury cars.

And the good news extended to Audi and BMW, which both recorded improved buyer intentions.

The survey shed some light on buyers’ vehicle preferences. More than 40 per cent of all buyers were keen on an SUV compared to 35 per cent who would buy a more conventional hatchback or sedan.

SUVs have replaced conventional cars such as hatchbacks and sedans as Australia’s favourite.

Roy Morgan’s chief Michele Levine says that the research backs up what is happening in the real market.

“We’ve all seen the growth in popularity of SUVs on the roads around us, but what this data tells us is that we can expect SUV numbers to continue to increase. The rise in SUVs has come at the expense of the standard passenger vehicle,” says Levin.