Car registrations
Smaller declines, but no sign of a turnaround in car registrations
3 Oct 2022
Our take on the latest Car registrations (Mon 3 Oct 2022)
Car registrations up 1.7% between June and September quarters (seasonally adjusted)
Used car registrations down 0.6% between June and September quarters (seasonally adjusted)
Registrations of rental cars up 78%pa in September 2022 quarter, compared to September 2021
The key numbers...
- Car registrations totalled 17,978 in September. New car registrations were down 11% from last September, which was higher than usual due to the nationwide lockdown in August 2021. Used car registrations only eased 0.7% from September 2021 but, excluding lockdown, the number of registrations was the lowest since 2012 (seasonally adjusted).
- Small cars continue to be preferred, with new and used small car registrations up 27% and 57%pa respectively, while new and used large car registrations fell 34% and 26% compared to last year.
- Nearly 1,700 rental cars were registered in September, 40% more registrations than in September 2021. However, rental registrations are still well below pre-COVID levels, with registrations in September 2019 totalling 2,726 cars.
- Registrations of full battery electric vehicles were 88% higher in the September quarter compared to September 2021, and non-plug in and plug-in hybrid registrations grew 67% and 66%pa respectively over the same period.
Used car registrations level out at 22,000 per quarter
Quarterly registrations, seasonally adjusted
...and our reaction
- September was another weak month for car registrations, with both new and used registrations easing from August on a seasonally adjusted basis. The combination of high inflation and rising interest rates is eating into household budgets. As long as these economic conditions persist, it seems unlikely there will be a major lift in car registrations.
- Rental car registrations continue to be a strongly growing segment of the car market, as September was the second-strongest month for rentals since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, given the extremely low registration numbers over the last 2½ years, much more growth is required for the rental fleet to fully service a pre-pandemic volume of tourists. The restrained level of registrations suggests that rental companies are either cautious about over-extending themselves or expect fewer tourists compared to pre-COVID seasons.
- The outlook for car registrations remains weak, particularly for large or used cars, with lower affordability as a result of inflation, higher interest rates, high fuel prices, and the Clean Car Discount scheme discouraging households from purchasing these vehicles.
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