Our take on the latest Car registrations (Thu 4 Jul 2019)
Car registrations down 8.6%pa in June 2019 quarter
Small used cars remain the only category with positive growth
All other registration categories remain in decline
The key numbers...
- Car registrations continue to fall across the board, but the rate of decline doesn’t appear to be accelerating.
- Weak consumer confidence is a drag on car registrations, with household sentiment more pessimistic than last year and below the long-run average. Slower population growth, softer employment growth, and higher fuel prices are all combining to make consumers more considered when they make spending decisions.
- We don’t expect that the recent cut to the official cash rate, nor the potential for at least one more cut this year, will result in renewed household spending and investment.
Passenger cars
Registrations, annual running totals
...and our reaction
- June car registrations were down 11% from June 2018, dragging growth for the June quarter down to -8.6%pa.
- Only small used car registrations saw growth in the June quarter, up 1.4% from a year earlier. Most of this growth came from a strong April result for small used cars, with the May and June monthly results dampening growth in the quarter.
- Used large car registrations continue to fall, down 13%pa in the June quarter, but this decline is slower than at the start of 2019.
- New car registrations fell 10%pa in the June quarter, and growth is now at its weakest since the end of 2009. New large car registrations fell 11%pa in the quarter, slightly more than the 9.2%pa drop in small new cars.
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