Australian new car sales have hovered above 1.2 million annually since late 2023, albeit having retraced from their June 2024 peak.
A new survey from Roy Morgan suggests that new car buying intentions have fallen to a five-year low as Australians cut spending amidst economic uncertainty.
Only 16%, or 3.8 million Australians aged 14+, intend to buy a new car in the next four years, down 4% points from a high of 20% in March 2023.
This decline has driven overall buying intention down to 47% (March 2026) from a high of 52% in March 2023. Meanwhile, interest in ‘Used Cars’ remained steady over the last few years with around 1-in-4 Australians (25% in March 2023 to 26% March 2026) saying they are looking to purchase a Used Car in the next 4 years.
Australians continue to overwhelmingly favour SUVs, with 56% of intended purchases being SUVs in March 2026, up from 48% in March 2023.
Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan, notd that “buying a new car is a big decision”, and that “the latest data on car buying intention reflects Australians believe now is not a good time to make big purchase decisions in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis”.
This result, Levine says, is “consistent with what we see in our latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index – which remains near a record low”, as illustrated below by Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro.
“Indeed, only 13% say now is a ‘good time to buy major household items’, while the majority (49%) say it is a ‘bad time to buy major household items’”, Levine said.
Rising interest rates, falling real incomes, and general economic uncertainty are clearly hitting consumers hard.
