VFACTS November: Supply crisis wreaks havoc on auto sales

Australian delivery delays caused by reduced output at car manufacturing plants overseas have seen new-vehicle sales plummet 15.3 per cent in November as many leading brands suffered significant declines.

These include market-leader Toyota, which despite selling more than twice as many cars (15,239) as its nearest competitor, posted a 34.3 per cent downturn compared to November last year, when the market was rebounding after the horror first wave of COVID-19 that had crippled the sector.

As a result, the Ford Ranger again outmuscled the Toyota HiLux last month – 4429 to 4228 sales – to claim top billing as the highest-selling model in Australia, although Toyota’s ‘unbreakable’ ute hasn’t exactly fallen off a cliff and is still expected to take top honours for the year.

There are now 2865 sales separating the two utes, with HiLux still in front and only four weeks of trading left – and word from Toyota that supply from its factories in Thailand, where the HiLux is built, will “improve substantially” in December.

The traditional end-of-year selling frenzy could also turn out to be a fizzer due to ongoing shortages that last month saw Mazda plummet from its accustomed second position in the market to fifth, its 5295 sales marking a 41.5 per cent plunge.

This elevated Hyundai to second (6854, -0.7%) – bolstered by 2254 Hyundai i30 sales, which handed the small car third position behind the top-selling utes – while Ford took third (6215, -6.0%) ahead of an improving Mitsubishi (5720, +4.2%).

The arrival of the new Mitsubishi Outlander (1633) was a key factor here, claiming seventh position among the nation’s best-selling cars.

Kia still has its nose in front of Mitsubishi in year-to-date terms but an 8.6 per cent drop in sales for the Korean brand last month (to 4915 units) could see it fall out of the top five for the year if there’s a repeat performance in December.

All eyes will be on Kia’s own all-new mid-size SUV, the 2021 Kia Sportage, which like the Outlander launched during November and is said to have healthy supplies in the short-term.

Elsewhere among the leading players, Chinese brand MG again bucked the trend to record an 85.2 per cent increase in sales last month (3743), placing it ahead of Nissan (3509, -12.3%), Volkswagen (3098, -5.5%) and Subaru (2712, 15.3%).

In overall terms, the 80,639 sales recorded across the industry last month is the lowest November result since the global financial crisis in 2008.

But the market should comfortably return to more than a million new vehicle sales for the full year during December, with 971,429 already on the scoreboard.

Last year’s pandemic-struck market was the first time since 2009 that it had dipped below that one-million marker.

In releasing today’s figures, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said: “Demand across the sector remains strong with the drop in sales reflecting well recognised international supply chain issues.

“This includes constraints around micro-processor supplies as well as the ongoing impact of the pandemic restricting factories.

“Car-makers are competing with many other sectors, such as whitegoods manufacturers, for micro-processors across the globe. Some new vehicles sold in the Australian market can require up to 3000 of these parts, so this shortage is definitely being felt by the industry.

“Challenges aside, we are less than 29,000 vehicles away from one million new cars being put into the hands of Australian motorists in 2021,” he said.

Among other key take-outs from the November results, BMW outsold Mercedes-Benz last month, 2211 sales versus 1827, although Benz remains the clear prestige market leader with 26,466 sales for the year to date – more than 3000 clear of BMW (23,077).

With Honda’s controversial shift to an agency business model now well bedded in – where its prices are fixed and the emphasis is now on premium model lines – the brand recorded 1362 sales last month.

This sees it continuing to fall short of its lowered volume expectations of 1650 sales per month, or 20,000 per annum under the new regime. In this transition year, Honda has sold 15,922 cars over 11 months, so it’s heading for a total this year of just over 17,000 cars.

In the electric car segment, where VFACTS figures continue to overlook sales from the runaway market leader Tesla, the rest of the car industry combined sold 568 EVs last month.

By comparison, there were 415 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) sold and 4983 regular hybrids.

For the year to date, 4597 EVs have been sold by all brands combined other than Tesla, but you may as well double that figure to get a more accurate figure of the total market, and then add some.

Over the same period, 3054 new PHEVs and 64,614 conventional hybrids have been registered in Australia.

That compares to more than 320,000 diesel-powered vehicles and almost 540,000 petrol cars.

Related: VFACTS October: Ford Ranger the one to beat