DEALER used vehicle selling prices cooled for the sixth consecutive month during August 2024 as stock surged by more than 30 per cent over the past 24 months, according to data released by Cox Automotive Australia.

Cox Automotive Australia’s Price Index data shows that the index, which started at 100 points in December 2019, now sits at 130.7 – down 7.4 per cent over the same point in 2023 and 11.7 per cent across the past two years. 

The data is collected by Cox Automotive Australia (Cox) on most dealer-listed used cars in Australia, mainly through its digital inventory management platform, SmartPublisher.

Cox reports that dealer inventory in its database declined slightly in July but remains 6.1 per cent greater than this time in 2023. The number of listed used vehicles is up more than 30 per cent in the past 24 months.  

Cox said that the greater availability of used vehicles is a key theme right now, stemming in part from all-time sales records in the new market driven by backorders and strong pipelines.

The most stocked used vehicles in dealerships are the Ford Ranger, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Hilux, Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Triton. 

It said that because trends in the new market eventually impact the used market, dealer used inventories have increasingly fewer traditional passenger cars (hatchbacks, sedans etc.) and more SUVs in them. 

As of August 2024, passenger vehicles had a circa 30 per cent share of used inventory, down from 39 per cent at the start of 2020.

SUVs have trended in the other direction with a 49 per cent market share of inventory in August 2024 versus 41 per cent at the beginning of 2020.  

Cox said that while still a small percentage of overall stock, supply of second-hand EVs and PHEVs is up 65 per cent year-on year and 120 per cent over the past two years (off a low base).

While dealer used supply levels are up, so are sales, with the August tally on Cox numbers up 11.2 per cent YoY for the best result since November 2020. 

Cox’s Market Days’ Supply measure across the industry declined from 62 days in August 2023 to 61 days in August 2024. The MDS figure was 64 days as recently as January 2024.  

Used SUV sales were up 13.5 per cent YoY and ute sales were up 16.4 per cent, but passenger car sales were largely stagnant over the past 12 months, up a modest 1.6 per cent.

This is down to relative scarcity rather than lack of demand, with passenger vehicles also having the shortest average selling days (38) of any vehicle type.

Cox said that while overall EV and PHEV sales remain small, sales have increased by 138.6 per cent this year. The Tesla Model3 is doing much of the heavy lifting, with sales up 88.6 per cent in August 2024 (over July) and tracking up 50 per cent YTD. 

The top-selling vehicles in the dealer used market for the month were the Ford Ranger (up 5.6  per cent MoM), Toyota HiLux (up 13.8 per cent), Toyota Corolla (up 6.4 per cent), Toyota RAV4 (up 5.6 per cent), and Hyundai i30 (up 2.8 per cent) this year.