There is light at the end of the tunnel for Australian new-car buyers sick of long wait times.
Supply continues to improve with the more than 95,000 new cars sold through November, almost 18 per cent higher than the same month in 2021.
Despite the increase the market still has a long way to go to hit pre-pandemic levels. Some brands are faring better than others.
HITS
Tesla
The electric car maker continues to make zero-emissions vehicles mainstream Down Under.
The Tesla Model Y – which was recently crowned the 2022 News Corp Australia Car of the Year – was the 10th best selling vehicle overall in November.
Australians bought 1805 Model Ys in the past month and 391 Model 3 sedans.
Tesla’s 2196 sales for the month accounted for about half of all electric vehicle sales in Australia.
It also outsold mainstream brands such as Honda, Nissan and Suzuki.
Chinese makers
Chinese car brands are no longer fringe players.
MG was the seventh-best selling maker in November. It sold 5497 vehicles, which was just 22 behind car making giant Hyundai and ahead of household names such as Volkswagen (3045) and Subaru (3701).
MG sold 3051 ZS small SUVs, which was good enough to make it the fourth most popular vehicle in November.
The ZS was also the best selling SUV in the country, surpassing the popular Toyota RAV4 (2282) and Mazda CX-5 (1949).
Great Wall Motors (GWM), which also includes Haval, sold close to 3000 vehicles and its sales are up more than 47 per cent for the month and 29 per cent for the year.
Commercial vehicle focused LDV is proving to be a hit with tradies as its sales continue to grow.
Electric car maker BYD posted an impressive 845 sales in its first month.
China was the third biggest exporter of vehicles to Australia in November, overtaking Korea.
Ute lovers
Australian new car buyers continue to gobble up utes at breakneck speed.
The Toyota HiLux (5440) and Ford Ranger (5073) were the top selling vehicles in the nation.
Sales of popular, and expensive, four-wheel drive utes continue to boom as Ford, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Toyota delivered positive growth in the past month.
Giant American-style pick-ups from Ram and Chevrolet continue to increase. Australians bought almost twice as many Ram 1500s in November than they did the same month last year.
MISSES
Hyundai
The Korean car making giant’s sales have slumped again in the past month.
It sold 5519 vehicles in November, which is roughly 1300 fewer than it sold in the same month in 2021.
Overall its sales were down about 20 per cent in November, but on the plus side the brand is still in the black for 2022 as a whole with sales up by about 1800.
Kia is pouring salt in the wound. Hyundai’s sister brand posted a big sales result of 6120, extending its total year sales lead to about 4000.
Nissan
The Japanese giant has had a year to forget with sales down about 38 per cent through the first 11 months of this year.
November was also not great. Sales slumped more than 50 per cent compared to the previous year.
But help is on the way.
Nissan is going on a new-car blitz over the next few months as it refreshes nearly its entire range.
It is launching a new Qashqai small SUV, X-Trail mid-size SUV and Pathfinder larger SUV along with the new Z sports car that arrived just a few months ago.
Luxury brands
It’s been a tough year for the top end of town.
Some of the biggest names in the business such as Audi, BMW and Lexus are experiencing sizeable sales declines.
Lexus is down almost 25 per cent for the year, Audi is down more than 10 per cent and BMW more than five.
Mercedes-Benz is faring slightly better, having sold about 1400 fewer cars this year than last.
British brands Jaguar and Land Rover sales are down 42 and 33 per cent respectively.
Volvo is one of the few bright spots as it continues to grow. Its sales were up 59 per cent in November and about 15 per cent for the year.