New car sales drop

Registrations of new cars totalled 5,950 in February, which was down by 4.7 per cent from 6,241 during the same month of last year.

Toyota’s RAV4, pictured, was the best-selling model on 466 units to claim 7.8 per cent of the market. Its numbers were also up 131.8 per cent from 201 registrations in February 2023.

Second place went to Suzuki’s Swift with 227 and a 3.8 per cent market share, although its February tally was down 53.3 per cent from 486 sales a year ago.

Ford’s Everest was next on the models’ chart with 220 registrations a climb of 98.2 per cent from 111. Sales of two Mitsubishis, the Outlander and ASX, were also up from a year ago and completed the top five after recording 218 and 175 respectively.

The year-to-date total for new passenger cars is 14,051 registrations, which is down 9.3 per cent compared to 15,486 by this time in 2023.

The RAV4 is well ahead of the pack so far this year after completing 1,084 registrations over the past two months and snaring 7.7 per cent of the market. The Outlander is next on 647 units and 4.6 per cent.

Toyota was the number-one marque last month with 1,128 registrations and a 19 per cent share of the market. It also leads the way year to date with 2,755 and 19.6 per cent.

Mitsubishi was second in February with 580 and a market share of 9.7 per cent, while Suzuki came third with 476 and eight per cent. Completing the top five were Kia and Ford with 423 and 375 respectively.

In the year-to-date standings, Mitsubishi sits behind Toyota on 1,722 units and a 12.3 per cent market share. Next on the ladder are Kia with 1,250, Suzuki on 1,013 and Ford with 818.