The number of repossessed vehicles on sale has continued to climb as Australians face a worsening cost of living crisis.
Auction site Pickles reported an average increase in repossessed cars hitting the auction of 13 per cent in the past six months.
In the second quarter of 2024 – April to June – the number of reclaimed vehicles rose again by 11 per cent from the first three months of 2024.
Pickles noted in their second quarterly report the “significant rate” in which repossessed vehicles were coming before auction was due to multiple factors.
“Pickles considers the two key contributing factors behind this growth to be ongoing cost-of-living pressures – relating to high CPI inflation and interest rates – along with owners’ ability to refinance diminishing as vehicle values generally decline, contrary to the booming used (car) values prior to the second quarter of 2022,” the report stated.
According to the report, the volume of used vehicles continued to grow with a new post-Covid record and a 34 per cent increase year-on-year in the sale of second-hand cars.
Notably, the number of used electric vehicles, or EVs, also rose by a record 91 per cent in the second quarter of 2024 with a whopping 82 vehicles hitting the auction block.
“This represents year-on-year growth of 246 per cent, which underlines Pickles’ growing status as the place to buy a used EV,” the report stated.
“A more steady growth pattern is expected for the rest of 2024, but we are witnessing the greatest shift in fuel types in generations.”
It comes after the ABS in May reported a moderate increase in “purchase of road vehicles” personal loans with some $1.397bn being owed that month.
That figure represents a marginal decrease from the $1.4bn reported in September 2023 and a significant increase from the $693 million 20 years earlier in May 2006.
