As Australia and the world face economic turmoil, rising real estate prices, interest rates and fuel costs are driving inflation and rising inequality against a backdrop of wars and climate change, if you have the means So there’s only one thing to do: buy a new sportscar.
Sales for the first three quarters of 2023 from auto industry statistician VFACTS show more Australians are doing just that.
Sportscar sales across all three price segments have increased by 37.7 per cent (from 6539 units to 9007) till the end of September compared to the same period last year, with the vehicle market overall growing by 10.9 per cent over the same period.
The results of 2023 in nine months are already higher than last year’s annual numbers. Against the backdrop of a steady decline in sportscar sales since 2017, 8745 cars were sold last year.
VFACTS reporting divides sportscars into three price segments: up to $80K; $80K-$200K and over $200K. Of these, the most affordable category made the biggest gain of 56.6 percent this year, while the $80K-$200K bracket saw an 18.7 percent increase and the over $200K segment saw a 14.9 percent increase.
This solid growth in sales in 2023 comes despite sales of 10 sportscars out of 38 available model lines stalling last year.
While only a few were delivered during their last sales year (a total of 87 units between them), these included well-regarded cars like the Alfa Romeo 4C, Alpine A110, Audi R8, Lexus RC and Nissan GT-R. And were relatively popular sportscars. , Meanwhile, Lotus has discontinued the Elise and Exige, discontinued last year (in anticipation of the Emira and upcoming electrified models) and Rolls-Royce has discontinued the Dawn.
Some of the above models, such as the Alpine A110, Audi R8 and Nissan GT-R, were discontinued because they did not meet the stricter upcoming ADR side impact safety regulations.
Subaru and Toyota’s shared sports coupes, the BRZ and GR86, are expected to see a big increase in sales in 2023 due to the second-generation models arriving last year. Toyota sales have increased by 758.1 percent to 798. Meanwhile the new Subaru BRZ – on sale from January 2022, a full 10 months more than its new Toyota cousin – has grown by 476 units or 58.8 per cent to 1286 units YTD.
BMW’s 2 Series, with the new-generation range launching in 2021, is up by 328 cars (79.8 percent) to 739 units.
The all-time best seller in volume is the Ford Mustang, down slightly from last year, with 1446 sales in 2023, compared to 1457 sales in the same period in 2022. A new generation Mustang will arrive in Australia next year.
One of the most ambitious sportscar brands, Porsche, has seen mixed results between its coupe and convertible lines.
Despite significant price hikes applied to MY23 cars, the Boxster and Cayman are up 39 and 123 percent respectively, and the upcoming MY24 models are also registering big price hikes.
Meanwhile, the 911 – along with the current 992 series model, which was released during the COVID-19 pandemic – declined by just seven cars or 1.6 percent.
Porsche Cars Australia spokesperson Alexis Truscott said. go auto While demand has been high for all models, this discrepancy has been described as “fluctuations in retail deliveries due to supply”.
“We are working to help new and existing customers secure their desired models as quickly as possible.”
It’s worth noting that the 911 is by far the most popular model in the over $200K segment, with 432 units sold this year, surpassing any other single model in terms of sales volume in the category.
As far as brands that are known almost exclusively for their supercars are concerned, it’s all good news. Ferrari sold 28 more cars this year, 172 YTD (up 19.4 percent), while Lamborghini sales jumped from 47 sales last year to 112 this year – up 138 percent and McLaren sold 30 more cars this year (71 YTD ) ).
Meanwhile, British brand Aston Martin saw seven fewer customers this year with 55 sales YTD, and the passion for Italian brand Maserati has cooled slightly with 18 sales compared to 22 in the same period last year.