Sales of new cars and trucks in Australia dipped by almost five per cent in January as the industry continued to grapple with supply and production issues.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said 75,863 new vehicles were sold last month, down 4.8 per cent on the same month last year.
Chief Executive Tony Weber said companies continued to deal with a shortage of microprocessors, vital for new vehicle production, and also with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said Australia was not alone, with the same issues plaguing markets all around the world.
"Despite this, consumer interest, inquiry, and the fundamental demand for new cars in Australia remains strong," he said.
"Manufacturers are continuing to work hard to address supply chain and production issues.
"We are also experiencing bottlenecks in having vehicles processed from some Australian ports."
Toyota was the market leader in January with 15,333 vehicles ahead of Mazda (9805), Mitsubishi (6533), Kia (5520) and Hyundai (5128).
Toyota's Hilux was the top-selling model on 3591 ahead of the Ford Ranger on 3245 and the Mazda CX-5 on 3213.
Despite the slide in the overall market last month, demand for electric vehicles continued to climb.
The FCAI said 620 were sold in January, more than double the 296 sold in the same month of 2021.
The continuing supply issues for the industry also came as vehicle pricing service PriceMyCar revealed data on wait times for new cars which showed buyers in Western Australia were hardest hit, waiting an average 157 days for their new wheels.
The ACT was the best at 95 days, while in NSW the wait was 124 days and in Victoria 127 days.
