Australia’s leading motor vehicle reseller, Pickles, has released its Q3 2024 Quarterly Automotive Report, revealing record sales and pivotal shifts in market dynamics as the automotive sector returns to pre-COVID seasonal patterns. With over 20,000 vehicles sold, Pickles continues to set post-COVID records, underscoring strong consumer demand for used vehicles.
The third quarter (July-September) marked the return of seasonal trends for the first time in four years, indicating greater stability and resilience within the used car market. Overall used vehicle values are returning to the predicted post-COVID new normal, but there have been some surprises among vehicle categories.
Distinctions among categories and fuel types of vehicles continue however, with passenger vehicles remaining stronger than SUV or light commercials (predominantly utes) but the former has trended downwards in the third quarter compared to the latter. In terms of fuel types, hybrid vehicles distinctly retain leadership above petrol, with diesel an even clearer margin beneath, with each trending very similarly this most recent quarter.
Driven by ongoing cost-of-living pressures and high interest rates, repossessions have increased, contrasting with trends from 2023. This trend underscores the economic challenges faced by Australian consumers. However, volumes of repossessions continue to remain materially below pre COVID levels.
Despite rising EV sales at Pickles, values for used EVs have declined, now falling below those of hybrid and ICE vehicles. This shift is driven by factors such as price adjustments in the new car market and increased volumes and availability. The variety of EV models supplied to Pickles also continues to expand, in line with the ongoing diversification of the new market, and non-Tesla models now represent over 70 per cent of Pickles’ electric car sales year to date.
Used Car Safety Ratings
Australians can now access updated Used Car Safety Ratings for 2024, providing comprehensive information to help consumers choose the safest used vehicles. Based on data from the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), the 2024 ratings analyse 9.4 million vehicles involved in police-reported crashes and 2.6 million injured road users in Australia and New Zealand from 1987 to 2022.
The latest ratings indicate a significant improvement in vehicle safety, with the average risk of death or serious injury for drivers in 2022 models reduced by 36 per cent compared to those manufactured in 2002. In total, 534 vehicle models were rated out of five-stars for Overall Safety which is a reflection of combined performance across Driver Safety, Other Road User Safety and Crash Avoidance, with one-star being the worst for safety and five-stars indicating the best rated vehicles for relative safety performance.
This provides consumers with 110 vehicles allocated a 5-star rating. This year, 54 vehicles received ‘Safer Pick’ status after scoring a five-star rating for both Overall Safety and Driver Safety; and having a four- or five-star Other Road User Safety and Crash Avoidance.
The 16 Safer Pick vehicles that received 5-stars in every category are (in alphabetical order):
- Audi A4/S4/RS4/All Road (MY 2008-2015)
- Honda Civic (MY 2016-2021)
- Honda Odyssey (MY 2013-2021)
- Hyundai Tucson (MY 2015-2020)
- Mazda 3/Axela (MY 2013-2019)
- Mazda 6/Atenza (MY 2012-2022)
- Mazda CX-5 (MY 2017-2022)
- Mercedes Benz CLA-Class C117/X117 (MY 2013-2019)
- Mercedes Benz E-Class W212/C207/A207 (MY 2009-2016)
- Mercedes Benz GLA-Class X156 (MY 2014-2019)
- Mitsubishi Outlander (MY 2012-2021)
- Subaru Impreza/XV (MY 2016-2022)
- Toyota Camry (MY 2017-2022)
- Toyota Corolla (MY 2018-2022)
- Volkswagen Tiguan (MY 2016-2022)
- Volkswagen Touareg (MY 2011-2019)
For budget-conscious motorists, the ratings reveal that nearly all ‘Safer Pick’ vehicles are available second-hand for under AUD $25,000, with over half priced at AUD $10,000 or less. This highlights the availability of safe options across various price ranges, particularly for young drivers.
The 2024 Used Car Safety Ratings show significant improvements in vehicle safety over the past 20 years. All ‘Safer Pick’ vehicles were made from 2004 onwards, with 91 per cent produced after 2008. This reflects the advantages of newer vehicles in terms of safety features, design quality, and compliance with updated regulation. Additionally, Electronic Stability Control has become widely available in vehicles since then.
Driven largely by the improvement in Driver Safety, the overall safety of the light vehicle fleet has improved by over 55 per cent since 1981. Medium, and small SUVs have more models rated five-stars for Overall Safety compared to small and medium cars, partly reflecting that the majority of these vehicles are newer. However, small SUVs and light cars had the worst occupant protection, largely due to their lighter weight and sometimes poor specification for safety equipment.
Commercial utes and people movers performed relatively poorly in occupant protection, despite being heavier. Of greater concern is the high risk of injury these vehicle types pose to other road users emphasising why crash avoidance technologies such as lane keep assist and autonomous braking are so important for these vehicle types.
Research lead and MUARC Director, Professor Stuart Newstead, said the updated ratings will empower consumers to make a safer choice both for them and the broader community.
“To minimise road trauma in the community it is important to choose vehicles that optimise safety in all the dimensions considered in the Used Car Safety Ratings. We need to consider how the vehicle protects you as the driver in a crash, the injury risk the vehicle poses to other road users in the crash and how likely the vehicle is to avoid a crash altogether.
“The Used Car Safety Ratings ‘Overall Safety’ rating reflects the balance of performance of a vehicle across all these aspects. Choosing vehicles that perform best overall will have the biggest impact on reducing road trauma in our communities,” Professor Newstead said.
The 2024 Used Car Safety Ratings for Australia can be found here.
In the months to come, Pickles expects the return of seasonal market behaviour to continue, along with further supply growth through to late November or early December before the traditional seasonal slowdown kicks in.
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.