The Australian used car market has put a poor June 2026 squarely in the rear vision mirror as sales jumped by 11.8 per cent in July, Australian Automotive Dealer Association figures show. 

After sales fell by more than 6300 to 214,996 in June, last month saw a very healthy rebound to 240,311 vehicles moved. Dealer volume grew by 9.1 per cent, which is healthy but pales in comparison to private seller volume, which shot up by 26.2 per cent. That saw the dealer share of the market fall from 71.8 per cent to 70.1 per cent during the period.

2020 Ford Ranger
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All up, sales leapt up by 25,315 compared to June, with the AADA explaining that the leap in private sales was stronger than dealers’ numbers in every vehicle age category, although dealers’ domination of the near-new segment continues. 

In addition to that leap, the number of vehicles listed for sale increased by 13 per cent month on month, and the average number of days to sell rose to 52.1 in July, which is the highest point for the year so far. Dealers are taking approximately 22 days more than private sellers when it comes to offloading one- to five-year-old vehicles.

Supply grew a little faster than demand in July, with 437,855 vehicles advertised for sale, which was a 13 per cent increase on June’s numbers. Private sellers have had the edge on dealers in terms of total sales for the past three months, and they extended their lead in the latest reporting period.

According to AADA, the poor June result was driven not by a weak market, but demonstrator models being cleared for the end of the financial year. 

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“The July rebound shows the June decline was largely a seasonal effect driven by end-of-financial-year demonstrator clearances rather than any softening in underlying demand,” said AADA CEO James Voortman.

“The data also shows dealers are continuing to achieve similar retained values to private sellers while discounting less often. That suggests slower stock turnover is being influenced by broader market dynamics rather than pricing alone.”