Boost for Colorado

The Hilux versus Ranger battle has dominated the headlines this year, but the Holden Colorado has also been a strong performer. Year to November it has pushed the Nissan Navara out of the top three and become the third highest selling ute in the country, compared to the same period last year. Year to November sales of 2,744 vehicles are up by 19 per cent compared to 2,302 last year. The Colorado has also caught the eye of NZ Company Vehicle magazine, who have awarded it ute of the year. Jeff Murray, managing director of Holden New Zealand, says: “We will continue to do all we can to this category of vehicle for both work and play.” Earlier this year, General Motors announced plans to co-develop the next-generation Holden Colorado and Isuzu D-Max utes to save money on engineering and parts costs. Each company will be responsible for manufacturing their own trucks once the development phase is complete. Another strong performer in the light-commercial market has been the SsangYong Actyon Sport. Sales of 820 vehicles are up by 98 per cent compared to 413 last year and its share of the market has grown from one to two per cent of the total market.