ENCOURAGING CAR SALES IN JUNE BUT STILL A LONG WAY TO GO

3 JULY 2020 New car Dealers are encouraged by June sales figures which show a significant improvement on the May result, however, one good month does not equal a recovery. “This is a good outcome for the industry, but we need to keep some perspective. It is still more than 7,500 units down on June 2019 and stands as the 27th month of consecutive decline in sales,” said AADA CEO James Voortman. “This result is a sign that incentives like JobKeeper and the instant asset write-off scheme are helping and is no doubt reflective of the easing of restrictions caused by the pandemic and some really appealing end of financial year deals,” said Mr Voortman. “Moving into the third and fourth quarters however, we see some big challenges ahead. JobKeeper is scheduled to end in September and we are hearing from Dealers that car buyers are still struggling to secure finance. This has been an issue since the release of the Financial Service Royal Commission recommendations and has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mr Voortman. “The big question now, is what can we do to keep the June momentum going? The economic activity generated by our industry is a substantial contributor to employment and taxation revenue. The Government needs these things more than ever, so we think the time is right to look at ways in which consumer credit can be freed up,” he said. ENDS. For further information please contact: Sharnee Pardy Communications & Operations Manager Australian Automotive Dealer Association Ltd E: media@aada.asn.au M: +61 423 542 494