Used car sales increased in Australia last month, following multiple months of decline, however experts have warned there could be change on the horizon.
Data compiled by AutoGrab and published by the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) shows 174,762 used vehicles were sold during February, a 2.2 per cent increase on the month prior.
This is just the third month since July last year where month-on-month sales have increased, however it’s a drop of almost 5000 vehicles on the 179,448 sales recorded in February 2024.
It’s also the 10th month in which used vehicle sales have been below 200,000 since the AADA’s Automotive Insights Report (AIR) debuted at the end of 2023.
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“While the increase in sales is a positive shift from January, the broader market remains in a state of adjustment,” said AADA CEO James Voortman.
“With supply contracting and demand still below historical levels, it remains a competitive market for sellers.
“Average days to sell a used vehicle remained stable at 48.5 days, suggesting that vehicles are still moving at a steady pace, albeit with some regional fluctuations.
The average time to sell a used car rose to 49 days in October and has since stayed comfortably below the record high of 50.9 days in December 2023.
The AADA and AutoGrab offer the following definitions for the monthly Automotive Insights Report:
- For Sale: Level of available used and demo cars listed online by dealers and private sellers nationally at the time of reporting. AutoGrab processes and de-duplicates listings to identify and eliminate repetitions, ensuring that vehicles listed across multiple platforms are counted only once.
- Sales: Total vehicles delisted from online marketplaces, serving as a close proxy to actual sales and recorded monthly. The delisting count also reflects unique vehicles, as AutoGrab processes and deduplicates listings to identify and eliminate repetitions, ensuring that vehicles listed across multiple platforms are counted only once.
Best-selling used cars (up to 10 years old)
As has been the case for the past year, the Ford Ranger was the best-selling used car, reflecting its popularity in the new car market.
The Toyota HiLux was the best of the brand’s five cars in the top 10, which consisted of one Ford, one Hyundai, one Mitsubishi and two Mazdas.
Used car sales by state and territory
Sales of used vehicles were up in every jurisdiction bar Western Australia, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, with significant growth in New South Wales and Victoria helping to slow the downward trend.
| State/territory | Vehicles sold (February 2025) |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 56,561 (+3.8%) |
| Victoria | 43,552 (+7.0%) |
| Queensland | 39,738 (+0.1%) |
| Western Australia | 22,699 (-3.0%) |
| South Australia | 12,069 (-0.4%) |
| Tasmania | 3665 (-8.2%) |
| Australian Capital Territory | 1886 (+1.5%) |
| Northern Territory | 601 (+14.3%) |
| Total | 174,762 (+2.2%) |
Sales by vehicle type
After surpassing traditional passenger cars in October, SUVs have continued to be the best-selling vehicle type, leading the overall growth in the market.
| Vehicle type | Total sales (February 2025) |
|---|---|
| SUVs | 73,059 (+2.8%) |
| Passenger cars | 65,308 (+1.6%) |
| Utes | 30,996 (+1.9%) |
| Vans and buses | 5399 (+2.4%) |
Sales by fuel type
Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) continue to increase, however they make up little more than 2500 sales per month.
| Vehicle type | Total sales (February 2025) |
|---|---|
| Petrol | 109,384 (+1.9%) |
| Diesel | 54,069 (+1.9%) |
| Hybrid | 8523 (+4.5%) |
| Electric vehicles (EV) | 2137 (+11.4%) |
| Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) | 388 (+35.7%) |
| LPG | 261 (+14.5%) |
MORE: Australia’s best-selling used cars of 2024 revealed