Quarterly Report – Q4 2022

The fourth quarter of 2022 saw some records broken particularly the Heavy truck industry beating its 2018 record. Electric vehicles are on the rise with new make BYD entering the market and Electric now accounting for 3.1% of the overall market. The used motor vehicle market is starting to normalise, but supply chain issues are still impacting buyers’ decisions. Take a deep dive into all market sectors.

The quarter in short:

• The Australian truck and heavy van sales for the 2022 calendar year totalled 44,379 units. This was up a significant 2,975 units, or 7.2 per cent, over 2022 setting a new record.
• Aged trucks have declined this quarter. Interestingly, with the labour shortages, drivers are being selective about who they drive for and the quality of the truck will be a determining factor.
• The mining and construction machinery manufacturing industry in Australia is expected to grow at an annualised rate of 4.9% over the next five years. 
• Caterpillar reported a rise in revenues by 20.3% to $16.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
• Tractor sales in December were up 9% from the same period last year bringing 2022 YTD sales up 3% from 2021.
• Despite ongoing supply chain issues, new vehicle sales grew 3% in 2022 with approximately 1.08 million units sold.
• Toyota was the number one brand for 2022, up 3.3%, selling 231,050 units.
• Battery electric vehicles accounted for 3.1% of total sales and hybrid vehicles accounted for 7.6% of total sales for the year.
• Tesla competitor BYD (Build Your Dreams) entered the market with strong opening sales results.
• The most popular vehicles at auction with both dealers and end-user buyers have been dual cab utilities, low kilometre prestige vehicles and SUV / Wagons.