carsales has launched its New Car Buyer’s Guide, an expert-led resource designed to reflect how Australians research, shortlist, and choose new cars today.
The guide has been built for a car-buying journey that is no longer linear. Buyers now explore, pause, compare, rethink and double-check before feeling ready to make a decision.
carsales said the New Car Buyer’s Guide is designed to meet that reality, while giving brands and dealers a more meaningful way to appear during moments that shape consideration.
A new model for discovery
Unlike traditional awards formats, the guide is designed as an always-on discovery and shortlisting resource, rather than a single annual verdict.
It features 25 hand-picked cars across five categories: Family SUVs, City Cars, Tradie Vehicles, Off-Road 4x4s and Electric Vehicles.
Each category includes one top pick to help buyers focus their consideration.
The top five in each category, along with the top pick, are independently selected by carsales’ expert reviewers with no commercial influence.
The selections are based on category-specific criteria, including value for money, safety, equipment, warranty and cost of ownership.
Ben Tyers, Head of Content at carsales, said the guide is not about naming one overall winner.
“This isn’t about declaring a single ‘best’ car,” Tyers said.
“It’s about reflecting real buyer needs and real use cases. The Guide is not only grounded in expert testing, but in live market trends, search data and a real-world view of how people are really researching and buying cars.
“Rather than just a trophy, it’s a practical, always-on resource. The category-led structure mirrors how people narrow their choices, and the top picks help bring clarity at the point where confidence really matters.”
Why it matters now
The launch comes as new car-buying behaviour becomes more complex.
Australia’s Car Buyer Report 2026 found that the average car-buying journey now stretches to six months, with almost two-thirds of buyers revisiting earlier stages before deciding.
More than half feel overwhelmed by the decisions involved, while six in ten struggle to know who or what to trust.
When buyers go online for guidance, car review and comparison platforms rank as the most influential source, accounting for 51% of media influence across the journey. carsales holds the number one position among those platforms.
Rafael Constantinou, Executive General Manager of Marketing, Content and Customer at carsales, said buyers are becoming more deliberate.
“They’re researching deeply, comparing carefully and looking for confidence before committing,” Constantinou said.
“The New Car Buyer’s Guide is built to meet that reality – helping buyers navigate complexity while giving brands a more relevant and credible way to be part of the decision-making process.”
What it means for brands and dealers
For OEMs and dealers, the guide adds a new layer of visibility during high-intent research and reassessment.
The launch will be supported by more than 50 pieces of content across video, editorial and social, with category-led discovery inside a trusted editorial environment.
It also creates pathways from inspiration to marketplace listings, helping connect brands with buyers who are actively researching and closer to purchase.
“As the market becomes more complex – more models, more technologies, more choice – the role of a trusted guide becomes even more important,” Constantinou said.
“For buyers, this means clearer decisions. For our partners, it means showing up where new car buyers already go to research and decide, at the moments that genuinely influence outcomes.”
The New Car Buyer’s Guide launches on carsales on Friday, 29 May.
Top image: carsales