Used imports hit record low

There was a sharp drop in the used-imported passenger vehicle market last month with 10,883 registrations – the lowest total recorded since June 2014 when 10,760 of used-imported cars were sold for the first time in New Zealand. 

April’s total was also a decrease of eight per cent, or by 969 units, on March 2019’s total and a 0.1 per cent drop on April 2018’s 10,893 units. 

April’s result brought the year-to-date total to 45,462, a decrease of 3,039 units – or 6.3 per cent – compared to the same period in 2018.

The Mazda Axela, pictured, came out on top as April’s most popular model with 584 registrations. The battle for second spot was close with Suzuki’s Swift on 508 units and the Honda Fit on 494 units, bumping Mazda’s Demio into fourth. The four models hold 5.4, 4.7, 4.5 and 4.2 per cent of this year’s market share respectively. 

Toyota was once again top-selling used-import brand on 2,392 units in April, which was a decrease of 9.5 per cent on the 2,644 on same month of last year. As a result, the marque holds a market share of 22 per cent.

Nissan held onto second with 1,976 sales last month – a rise of 0.3 per cent on April 2018’s total of 1,970 for an 18.2 per cent market share. Mazda was third on 1,882 registrations, which was an increase of 6.9 per cent on the same month of 2018 for a market share of 17.3 per cent. 

The region that performed best when compared to the same month a year ago was Whangarei – up by 30.1 per cent from 226 to 294 units last month. Wanganui and New Plymouth rounded out the top three – both up by 16.7 per cent.