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New vehicle market cools

New car registrations drop eight per cent in June as cooling market continues.
Posted on 03 July, 2019
New vehicle market cools

Sales of new vehicles in New Zealand last month fell by eight per cent, or by 1,220 units when stacked against the same month in 2018.

Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford says overall year-to-date sales were down by nearly 5.5 per cent on the first six months of 2018.

"The trend is downward though we have seen some lumpy results in the first half of this year,” says Crawford, pictured above. “Two months of registrations were stronger compared to 2018 whereas the other four months were weaker."

"However, we need to remember that we are coming off five year-on-year records for new vehicle sales in New Zealand. 

“In this context, while 2019 looking to be a more pedestrian year compared to the last two years, the expected outturn is likely to be better than in 2016."

Commercial vehicle sales

In the commercial sector, Ford retained its market lead with a 22 per cent business share, followed by Toyota on 19 per cent and Mitsubishi third with 13 per cent.

The Ford Ranger retained top spot as the best-selling commercial model with a 20 per cent share of the market on 1,057 units. It was followed by Toyota’s Hilux with 14 per cent and the Holden Colorado in third with 13 per cent and 677 units.

Year-to-date utes continue to dominate the market. The Ford Ranger retains the market lead with 5,077 units, followed by the Toyota Hilux with 3,505 units, Mitsubishi Triton with 3,046 units and the Holden Colorado with 2,662.

Toyota remains the overall market leader

Toyota topped the ladder for sales of all new vehicles last month with an 18 per cent share of the market on 2,534 units. It was followed by Ford with 11 per cent and 1,474 units. Holden came third with nine per cent thanks to 1,222 sales.

Toyota was also the market leader for passenger and SUV registrations with an 18 per cent share on 1,561 units. It was followed by Hyundai with 11 per cent, or 926 units, and Mazda on nine per cent and 790 units.

Toyota's Corolla topped the top-selling passenger and SUV model list on 464 units, followed by its very own RAV4 on 405 units, and the Hyundai Tucson with 338 units.