Commercial registrations and activity
Weakest quarter for light commercials since March
11 Jul 2022
Our take on the latest Commercial registrations and activity (Mon 11 Jul 2022)
Light commercials down 60%pa in June quarter
Medium commercial registrations eased 0.3%pa in June month
Very heavy commercials were up 12%pa
The key numbers...
- Light commercial vehicle registrations totalled 5,167 in the June quarter, the lowest quarterly total since March 2012, driven by a steep 55%pa decline in light commercial registrations in the June month alone.
- Medium commercial registrations edged down 0.3%pa, totalling 379 in June. Registrations of medium vehicles over the last year were the second highest on record, totalling 4,831, just one registration shy of the May 2022-year total.
- Very heavy commercials totalled 236 in June, up 12%pa. Registrations of very heavy vehicles totalled 2,573 over the last 12 months, the highest annual total since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Weakest quarter for light commercials in a decade
Light commercial vehicle registrations, quarterly total
...and our reaction
- The weak light commercial registration outcome was expected, with many purchasing decisions brought forward into the first few months of 2022 to pre-empt the enactment of fees for higher-emitting vehicles in the Clean Car Discount scheme in April.
- We expect the enactment of fees into the Discount scheme will mean weak light commercial registrations for an additional few months, with any further weakness a consequence of lower affordability and tougher economic conditions.
- Very heavy commercials were high in June, as a busy construction sector with a strong pipeline for the next 12 to 18 months (including high infrastructure investment) will need a larger fleet of heavy vehicles. We expect very heavy vehicles to remain in high demand for the next year, but a weaker economic outlook and turning housing market will eventually filter through to fewer registrations.
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