ABS new cars ales are out for August and show a 3.3% jump yoy:
TOTAL NEW MOTOR VEHICLE SALES
- The August 2011 trend estimate (83 720) has increased by 1.3% when compared with July 2011.
- Seasonally Adjusted – The August 2011 seasonally adjusted estimate for new motor vehicle sales (87 935) increased by 3.3% when compared with July 2011.
SALES BY TYPE OF VEHICLE
- Trend – When comparing national trend estimates for August 2011 with July 2011, sales of Passenger, Sports utility and Other vehicles increased by 0.6%, 3.9% and 0.2% respectively.
- Seasonally Adjusted – When comparing seasonally adjusted estimates for August 2011 with July 2011, sales of Passenger, Sports utility and Other vehicles increased by 1.2%, 10.1% and 0.8% respectively.
SALES BY STATE
- Seven of the eight states and territories have experienced an increase in the trend estimate for new motor vehicle sales when comparing August 2011 with July 2011. South Australia recorded the largest percentage increase (2.3%), followed by Tasmania (2.2%) and Victoria (1.7%). Over the same period the Northern Territory remained steady with 797 sales for the second consecutive month.
- In seasonally adjusted terms, sales of new motor vehicles increased in five of the eight states and territories when comparing August 2011 with July 2011. Tasmania recorded the largest percentage increase of 7.6%, followed by New South Wales (4.1%) and Victoria (3.5%). Over the same period the Australian Capital Territory recorded the largest percentage decrease of 4.1%.
That’s a pretty reasonable bounce and the data is strong across the major states:
Here is a longer term chart of sales:
As you can see, after a big dip earlier this year, sales have returned to something like former levels. This is no doubt the tsunami effects on Toyota and perhaps the floods too.
We certainly aren’t growing much in trend terms, indeed the long term still looks down, but neither are we falling off a cliff. Like so many sectors of the old economy, car sales appear to be in some kind of slow melt.
Update
Rumplestatskin has just provided me with the following per capita new car sales chart and you can that the decline in consumer’s willingness to buy a large consumption item has declined quite markedly since late 2007 and is currently around 2003 levels. The trend is being offset (disguised) by high population growth:
