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August 2026: A market that's moving, just not upward
Dealers sold plenty of cars in August and made slightly less on each. Like-for-like prices slipped 1.4%, and repriced cars took nearly four times as long to sell.
August was a month where Australian dealers sold plenty of cars and made slightly less on each of them.
Across 2,762 dealer rooftops, 70,936 sales were observed. The median used car went for $28,880, a touch above July's $28,488, and took 31 days to sell, against 24 in July. Like-for-like, the same make, model, build year and kilometre band sold for 1.4% less in August than in July.
Discounting
More than four in ten cars sold in August, 42.0%, had their advertised price cut before they sold. The median cut was $2,200, about 7% off the sticker.
A car that sold without a price cut cleared in a median 17 days. A car that was repriced took 67, nearly four times as long.
Near-new took longer
Demonstrator and near-new stock took 45 days to clear nationally against 31 for used, at a median $47,888 a unit.
What's selling fast, and what isn't
The quickest were a mix of new and old: the KGM Torres at 9 days, all of them demo or near-new, the Hyundai Getz at 12, the Hyundai Elexio at 13 and the Toyota Aurion at 14.
The slow end was new nameplates, mostly demo and near-new stock. LDV Terron 9 sat 110 days, Mahindra XUV700 98, MG MGU9 95, and Kia Tasman and Volkswagen ID.4 94.
Electric vehicles took 4.9% of sales, up from 3.7% in June, and sold in a median 28 days. Plug-in hybrids took another 2.6%.
Makes and models
Toyota held 12.4% of the market, flat on July. Ranger was the best-selling model at 2,764 sales, and RAV4 and Hilux were the fastest of the big sellers at 24 and 26 days. GWM and BMW gained share, up 0.3 and 0.5 points. Mitsubishi gave back 0.4 and Subaru 0.3.
Pre-2010 cars sold in a median 25 days at a median $8,995.
West of the Nullarbor (God's Country)
Western Australia discounted harder than the rest of the country, 48.2% of sales against 42.0%, and took longer to sell, 37 days for a used car against 31. WA stock carries more kilometres, a median 56,600 against 38,455 in NSW and the ACT, and sold for more: a median $29,588 for a used car against $28,880 nationally.
The Ford Falcon was one of the fastest-selling cars in the state, at 22 days, with the Holden Commodore at 31. Some things don't change.
Supply
New listings ran around 22,000 a week nationally through August, and more than 200,000 vehicles were advertised across monitored dealers, new and demo included.
The takeaway
Like-for-like prices fell 1.4% and used cars took a week longer to sell than in July. Cars that sold without a price cut went in 17 days; cars that were cut took 67.
Figures from the Australian Dealer Market Report, August 2026. Advertised stock at Australian dealers, monitored continuously; a withdrawal counts as a sale unless the car is seen advertised again. Medians throughout.
