Now we have survived until 25, what will the New Year bring?

We are likely to see further drops in the Reserve Bank cash rates, which will help reduce borrowing costs, which in turn should stimulate the house market and make households more inclined to loosen their purse strings.

Business confidence was already starting to return in the later part of 2024 along with the interest reductions and some signs of economic recovery green shoots, certainly our clients are taking a much more positive outlook to 2025.

The car industry suffered badly in the first half of 2024 with a combination of reduced spending and the effects of changes in government policy setting around the Clean Car (EV) Discounts and Clean Car Standards, plus the bringing in of RUC  charges for EVs and PHEVS. Most of these changes worked their way through the system by the final quarter with the market picking up somewhat but still ended the year down 13.5 percent on 2023.

Challenges remain as Importers will need to balance the CO2 budget of the vehicles they sell to meet the average CO2  emission requirements of the Clean Car Standards or incur significant fees. The drop off in EV sales makes this more  challenging as those sales help offset sales of higher emission models.

For the repair industry the year looks positive, slower new car sales last year along with more consumer confidence should see increased repair business as customers hold their vehicles longer and more vehicles fall outside warranty periods.

All told there seems to be reason to be quietly confident that 2025 will give us all a better year than 2024.