Record commercial sales help new vehicle numbers

Glynn Tulloch, President of the Motor Industry Association says, “Registration of 13,132 vehicles for the month of May confirms that the growth seen so far this year is sustainable and shows every sign of continuing”. Year to date, the new vehicle sector is 14 per cent (7,809 units) ahead of this time last year with 63,244 vehicles registered compared to 55,435 to the end of May 2016.” Passenger car and SUV registrations of 8,387 units were up a decent 11.8 per cent (885 units) on May 2016. There were 4,745 commercial vehicle registrations for the month of May, up by a massive 29 per cent (1,067 units) on May 2016. It was not only the strongest month of May on record for the registration of new commercial vehicles, but the strongest month ever since the MIA began collecting vehicle stats in 1975. Toyota remains the overall market leader with 18 per cent market share (2,370 units), followed by Ford with 11 per cent (1,495 units) and Mazda, Holden, and Mitsubishi all with 8 per cent market share (1,072 / 1,029 / 1,028 units). Toyota was also the market leader for passenger and SUV registrations with 15 per cent market share (1,245 units) followed by Mazda with 11 per cent (886 units) and Holden with 8% market share (681 units). The top selling passenger and SUV models for the month were the Toyota RAV4 (391 units) followed by the Mazda CX-5 (330 units) and the Kia Sportage (302 units). In the commercial sector, Toyota was again the market leader with 24 per cent (1,125 units) followed by Ford with 20 per cent (971 units) and Mitsubishi a distant third with 11 per cent market share (501 units). For the month of May, the Ford Ranger remains at the top of the bestselling vehicle model table with 889 units, closely followed by the Toyota Hilux in second with 819 units, and the Mitsubishi Triton third with 501 units. Year to date the top three selling models are Ford Ranger with 3,800 units followed by the Toyota Hilux with 3,105 units and the Toyota Corolla with 1,827 units. For the month of May, four of the top five vehicle segments were dominated by SUV’s and utes (Pick Up/Chassis Cab), the SUV medium segment being the most dominant with 18 per cent share (2,305 units) followed by Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x4 with 16 per cent (2,112 units), then SUV large with 12 per cent (1,568 units), then Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x2 on 10 per cent (1,347 units), and the fifth being passenger small with 9 per cent and 1,244 units.  “Low interest rates, strong net immigration, strong New Zealand currency and robust domestic economy continue to underpin the sales of new vehicles,” said Tulloch.