The head of one of Australia’s biggest car dealerships has talked of a “structural shift” in the vehicle market in Australia, as “savvy” customers turn increasingly towards electric cars and other new energy vehicles in the face of rising inflation, higher fuel prices and technology change.
Andrew Doyle, the CEO of Peter Warren Automotive Holdings, one of the country’s biggest car dealers that sells new and old cars, vehicle parts and repairs, says brand loyalty and technologies are changing.
“The market is changing very aggressively,” Doyle told analysts in an earnings briefing last month. “There is a clear shift in customer demand towards value, technology, fuel efficiency and new energy vehicles.”
Doyle was speaking in late August, at the release of his company’s annual results, and two weeks before official data showed yet more record sales for EVs in the Australian market, a record 24.9 per cent share for full battery electric cars, and more than 35 per cent share of plug in cars.
Doyle’s comments echo those of the country’s biggest car dealer, Eagers Automotive, and its CEO Keith Thornton, as we reported last week when he dispelled one of the big myths about EV buyers.,
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Thornton said in his company’s profit briefing. “The one thing we have observed, though, is that the transition from a fully combustion engine car to a full electric vehicle, and that transition might include a hybrid vehicle, a plug-in hybrid vehicle, and ultimately a full battery electric vehicle, is a one-way street.Â
“Generally speaking, people transition to a lower emission vehicle and either hybrid and/or plug-in, and we’re not seeing a lot of people who have gone down that path, then selling out and coming back to combustion engine vehicles.”
Eagers has been focused mostly on its partnership with BYD, but Peter Warren has signed up one new Chinese brand every six weeks and expects another 10 new brands to be signed in the coming year.
Its biggest fish, though, are Geely and Zeekr, with Geely expected to launch another 5 fully battery electric models in the next 12 months and Zeekr expected to launch three new models, the 7GT, 8X, and 9X in early 2027.
One of the big challenges for Australian car dealerships is the pressure on their business models, which have traditionally relied on parts and servicing from internal combustion engine cars, which are complex and need frequent upkeep and repairs.
“The EV heavy china brands won’t have much in the way of parts and services, what are you doing about the lack of back-end revenues,” one analyst asked.
“It’s a good question,” Doyle said. “There are less moving parts in new energy vehicles.” But for the moment his company’s focus is on broadening its penetration into its current “car park” of ICE cars, and seeking more opportunities to tap into repairs and spare parts, and on developing new expertise with high voltage technicians who can conduct repairs in EVs.
“Brand loyalty is changing,” he noted, in an ominous warning for legacy car companies. “Technologies are changing …. higher interest rates, rising fuel prices …. are making customers more savvy, and they have a high demand for fuel efficiency …. and a greater acceptance of new brands.”
And just in case anyone thought that the recent urge in EVs might come to an end soon, Doyle is not seeing the evidence, pointing to a huge 26 per cent jump in his order book, much of it from the EV-focused Chinese brands.
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