NZ car sales bucking the global trend

When it comes to new car sales, New Zealand appears to be driving down its own path. According to vehicle type, Kiwis are much more likely to purchase larger new vehicles compared to the global average. Global sales statistics for the first quarter of 2017 released by Jato Dynamics show that globally, small cars such as hatchbacks and sedans made up nine of the 20 highest-selling models. In New Zealand, there were just four. Of the top 20 models sold worldwide, there were three utes, four sedans, seven SUVs/crossovers, five hatchbacks and one van. However, New Zealand’s top 20 contained seven utes, two sedans, nine SUVs/crossovers, two hatchbacks and one van. When laid side-by-side, New Zealand sales correlates loosely with the top 20 vehicles globally; the Toyota Corolla, Toyota RAV-4, Volkswagen Tiguan and Honda HR-V all feature. The top-selling car worldwide was the Ford F-Series ute, with 244,000 sales in the quarter. The model is only sold in the United States, making its top placing even more remarkable. Second worldwide was the Toyota Corolla, with 215,000 sales, followed by the Nissan X-Trail, with 212,000 sales, and the Volkswagen Golf, with 210,000 sales. The Honda Civic rounded off the top five, with 179,000 sales. New Zealand’s top-selling car was the Ford Ranger, a smaller version of the American mid-sized F-150 with 2,215 units sold in the first quarter of 2017. The second highest-selling vehicle was the Toyota Hilux, with 1,720 units sold in the first quarter, followed by the Toyota Corolla, with 1,337 sales, the Holden Colorado, with 1,091 sales, and the Kia Sportage, with 968 sales. When it comes to sedans and hatchbacks, New Zealand prefers to buy second-hand – 15 of the 20 highest-selling used vehicle models in the first quarter were sedans and hatches.