Record numbers of Australians borrowing to buy new cars: report
Xinhua, January 7, 2015 Adjust font size:
The number of Australians using finance loans to buy new cars has hit a record high, new figures released on Wednesday show.
New research by IBISWorld shows the amount borrowed to buy new cars and station wagons has grown annually by 15 percent from 3.4 billion Australian dollars (2.75 billion U.S. dollars) in 2009 to a record 6.9 billion Australian dollars (5.57 billion U.S. dollars) in 2014.
And those most likely to borrow are home loan customers in their thirties and forties who have purchased property in the past five years.
In June 2009, the average financed amount was 3,718 Australian dollars (3003 U.S. dollars) compared to 6,110 Australian dollars ( 4935 U.S. dollars) in June 2014.
IBISWorld industry analyst Andrei Ivanov said rising property values contributed to the new car buying boom.
"Rising house prices have enabled many mortgage holders to refinance and release more of the equity in their homes," he said in a statement.
"This has encouraged households to spend on one-off big-ticket items such as new cars, despite broader concerns about incomes and cashflows."
Official car figures released on Tuesday show more than 1.113 million new cars were sold in 2014, a 2 percent reduction on the previous record year. Endi
