The Australian Bureau of Statistics released data on the sale of new motor vehicles the week and it shows on-going decline in new motor vehicle sales since 2015. New motor vehicle sales are an indicator of the strength of consumer spending and the plateauing of sales over the past two years has mirrored the transition of the Australian economy to a phase of low growth. The latest figures show that the flattening in sales over the past two years is starting to tip downwards – a signal that consumers are becoming more concerned about making major purchases in the current economic climate.
At the same time, it may simply be a signal that home owners think that the policies designed to reduce the price of housing are having an impact – a Reserve Bank of Australia study found that housing wealth is positively correlated with new passenger vehicle registrations.