An estimated 631,000 Australians intend to buy a new car in the next 12 months (excluding fleet, government and rental buyers), according to the Roy Morgan Automotive Leading Indicators report.

This is well above the May 2009 figure of 611,000 and remains significantly above the five year low of 489,000 recorded in December 2008.

The number of Australians intending to buy a new car in the next four years is 2,048,000. This is relatively stable on the May 2009 figure of 2,057,000 and remains consistently above the lows recorded in late 2008 and early 2009.

The latest figures show the number of Australians intending to buy a new car in the next twelve months sits above the long term average of 613,000*, with the number of Australians intending to buy a new car in the next four years comparable to the long term average of 2,052,000.*

Norman Morris, industry communications director, Roy Morgan Research, says: “The positive take out from these results is the steady increase in the number of Australians intending to buy a new car in the next twelve months and four years.

“Both figures are consistently sitting above the lows recorded in early 2009 - and the intention to buy a new car in the next twelve months is now above long term average.

“Late 2008 and early 2009 clearly represented one of the most challenging operating environments for Australia’s automotive industry and these figures suggest the worst might be behind us.

“The increase in intention is driven by strong increases in Victoria and Queensland, and especially among males aged 35-49.

“The good news for the automotive industry is not equally shared among all makers of vehicles — major winners are likely to be Toyota and Holden, with some makers looking at even further reductions in sales.

“While there is still some way to go, these latest results - which coincide with strong increases in the Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating (now at 114.0, up 9.3pts since May 30/31, 2009) and strong June new car sales figures - paint an encouraging picture for Australia’s automotive industry”.

Source: Autofile