Global supply issues continue to plague vehicle market

Global supply issues continue to plague Australia’s new vehicle market, with sales falling by more than 12 per cent in April.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said demand for new cars and trucks in Australia remained strong but production and shipping problems were ongoing.

It said 81,065 vehicles were sold last month, down 12.2 per cent compared to the same month last year.

That took the total market to the end of April to 343,501, a fall of 3.5 per cent.

FCAI CEO Tony Weber said the decline was not a reflection of buyer interest.

“This is a reflection on the global automotive industry’s ability to supply vehicles to not only the Australian market but all markets throughout the world,” Weber said.

“Automotive manufacturers continue to suffer from a shortage of microprocessor units, which is impacting their ability to ramp up production to pre-pandemic levels.”

Weber said COVID-19 also continued to impact manufacturing and supply, particularly where factories had been forced to close and shipping operations were yet to fully recover.

“This is being reflected in the extended delivery times for new vehicles,” he said.

Toyota led the market in April with 17,956 vehicles sold ahead of Mazda on 7378, Mitsubishi on 6463 and Kia on 6180.

The Toyota Hi-Lux was the top-selling model with 4493 ahead of the Ford Ranger with 3581, the Toyota RAV4 on 3373 and the Mazda’s CX-5 on 2701.

Despite the fall in overall sales, demand for electric vehicles continued to surge.

The FCAI said 866 were sold last month compared to 286 in April last year taking demand so far in 2022 to 7618, up from 1255 at the same time in 2021.