Sales of new motor vehicles climb 4.9%
One of Australia’s key economic indicators has performed quite strongly over the past year, new data has revealed.
Australians bought 100,476 new motor vehicles in May, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
That meant sales grew 4.9 per cent over the year – more than three times faster than the country’s population growth, which was last recorded at 1.5 per cent.
Car sales is one way to gauge consumer sentiment. A higher number generally equates to more confidence; that in turn means more spending, which helps fuel economic growth.
State-by-state breakdown
Victoria was the best performer over the year to May, with sales jumping 8.7 per cent. ACT was the only state or territory to go backwards, with sales falling 1.6 per cent.
Looking at the quarterly results, sales growth ranged from 8.5 per cent in South Australia to 1.6 per cent in the ACT.
| Region | May sales | Monthly change | Quarterly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 33,899 | 1.3% | 5.4% | 4.3% |
| Victoria | 28,422 | 2.8% | 7.6% | 8.7% |
| Queensland | 19,732 | 5.0% | 5.2% | 3.7% |
| WA | 8,181 | 4.1% | 4.9% | 1.9% |
| SA | 6,144 | 3.6% | 8.5% | 2.2% |
| Tasmania | 1,614 | 3.9% | 1.9% | 2.3% |
| ACT | 1,546 | 1.6% | 1.6% | -1.6% |
| NT | 938 | 4.0% | 6.3% | 3.0% |
| Australia | 100,476 | 2.9% | 6.0% | 4.9% |
Disclaimer
This article is over two years old, last updated on June 20, 2017. While RateCity makes best efforts to update every important article regularly, the information in this piece may not be as relevant as it once was. Alternatively, please consider checking recent car loans articles.
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