10 Interesting Car Statistics in Australia

Some countries pump out some amazing car statistics and Australia is no exception. We take a look at 10 interesting car statistics including the world’s cheapest country to own a car - which is Australia.

Find out the details below!

1. 0.02% to 1.57% - the market share rise of EV from 2012 to present in Australia.

It may not sound like much, but that translates to a 7,750% increase in EV sales over that time period.

2. Australians spend around $40,700 per new car.

Figures show that prices vary per state due to car costs like government charges like stamp duty and registration, but overall, the average spend on a new car in Australia is $40,700.

3. The Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger are the best selling vehicles in Australia.

Here’s a rundown of 2021’s top sellers by month;

• January - Toyota HiLux
• February - Toyota HiLux
• March - Toyota HiLux
• April - Ford Ranger
• May - Toyota HiLux
• June - Ford Ranger
• July - Toyota HiLux
• August - Toyota HiLux
• September - Ford Ranger
• October - Ford Ranger

4. Longer purchase journeys: 2.7 months to 7 months.

The average purchase journey, the time period from first deciding to purchase a vehicle to the transaction, has blown out from 2.7 months in 2017 to 7 months in 2021

The purchase journey includes deciding on purchasing a new car to research and setting parameters (eg. price range), to defining shortlists and finding the exact example.

5. 92.5% of Australian households have a car and 789 per 1,000 people own a car in Australia.

For comparison (cars per 1,000 people);

• US: 816
• Japan: 649
• Germany: 574
• Thailand: 281
• China: 210

6. Utes make up around 22.4% of all new car purchases in Australia.

Australia’s rate of buying light commercial vehicles (the category which utes fall into) is the highest IN THE WORLD.

We buy 1 LCV per 108 people, in the US for comparison, it’s 1 LCV per 259 people.

SUVs made up a massive 45.5% in 2020.

7. The most important feature of a new car for Australian buyers is safety.

In a recent survey by Statista, 65% of participants said car safety was the most important characteristic when selecting a car.

Fuel efficiency was second-most important.

8. Hybrid vehicle sales rose by 93.7% from 2019 to 2020.

Numbers from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show how hybrids are becoming massively popular in Australia.

9. Since the beginning of the pandemic, car prices in Australia have risen considerably, over 30% on some models.

It’s because of chip shortages and supply chain disruptions hampering production and causing delays, resulting in many new car buyers opting for used examples.

Furthermore, many public transport users have purchased vehicles in fear of COVID exposure.

According to numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 18% of people who regularly used public transport prior to COVID restrictions in March 2020, have not done so since.

10. Australia is the cheapest country in the world to own a car.

That’s in terms of the portion of the average salary needed to own and operate a car.

In Australia, it takes 49.48% of an average salary to own and operate a vehicle, the only country in the world under 50%.

For comparison;

Top 5 CHEAPEST

• 1. Australia: 49.48%
• 2. United States: 54.87%
• 3. Denmark: 60.34%
• 4. Canada: 64.4%
• 5. Sweden: 75.84%

Top 5 MOST EXPENSIVE

• 1. Turkey: 652.29%
• 2. Argentina: 515.77%
• 3. Colombia: 508.93%
• 4. Uruguay: 443.68%
• 5. Brazil: 441.89%

Stay tuned

Keep a lookout for more interesting information from the car world and finance world.

Positive is determined to keep providing the information and answers to the questions that our customers ask.

If you’d like to find out more about getting your next car, try running a few numbers by comparing car loans. There are no commitments to simply fun a few numbers.

Sources:
Carsales
ABS
VFACTS
Budget Direct
Google
Statista
Wikipedia
Scrap Car Comparison