BEACONS GLIMMER IN THE GLOOM

If you want to survive an economic downturn, build big utes, cheap Chinese SUVs, and niche British sports cars. Great Wall and Haval are up 19.5% and 96.7% YTD respectively. Ram continues to rock a 31.3% YTD growth, while Lotus grew a massive 500% compared to the same time last year. Okay, so that may be skewed by the fact it sold just one car last May compared to five in the month just gone.

HIGHLIGHTS

LOWLIGHTS

Genesis is still struggling to find traction after almost a year in the market. Just five models rolled out of the Korean brand’s showroom last month. While the market is up compared to April’s COVID-19 affected slump, this is the lowest May figure in 26 years, and makes this the longest sustained downturn in new car sales since the GFC. Some of the brands hit worst by the slowdown are Renault (-40.2% YTD), Citroen (-55%), and Alfa Romeo (-39%).