Ranger tops sales ladder

There were 9,261 new cars registered during October compared to 8,296 in the same month of 2020 for an increase of 11.6 per cent.

The top two models on the ladder were Toyotas – the RAV4 with 868 units and the Corolla on 744 for market shares of 9.4 and eight per cent.

Mitsubishi’s Outlander was next up with 703 registrations. It was followed by Nissan’s X-Trail on 349 the MG ZS came fifth with on 267. 

Activity fluctuated across the regions with some big gains but some equally substantial drops in new-car sales last month when compared to October 2020.

Auckland enjoyed a 34.8 per cent increase, from 3,212 a year ago to 4,330, despite the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.

Christchurch sales edged up 5.5 per cent, from 905 to 955, and Wellington's numbers increase 10.7 per cent, from 905 to 1,002.

Other regions on the up included Wanganui, where the 112 units sold was 40 per cent higher than October 2020, and Thames, which went from 88 sales to 117 for a 33 per cent increase.

On the flip side, Tauranga’s numbers fell from 482 to 349, which was a drop of 27.6 per cent, and Hamilton’s sales dropped from 702 to 533, or by 24.1 per cent.

Commercials climb

As for new commercials, there were 4,775 new commercials sold during October. That was up by 33.4 per cent from 3,580 in the same month of last year. 

The top three models were Ford’s Ranger with 1,627 units, Toyota’s Hilux on 593 and Nissan’s Navara with 387.

Year-to-date, there have been 43,697 light commercials sold, which is 36.1 per cent more than the 32,097 at the same stage a year ago.

Demand for new commercials was up across most regions, with one of the biggest increases seen in Whangarei where registrations went from 115 in October 2020 to 217 last month, a jump of 88.7 per cent.

In the main centres, Auckland’s numbers rose 32.1 per cent from 1,307 to 1,726, Wellington was up 17.4 per cent from 218 to 256, while Christchurch went from 384 to 591 for a 53.9 per cent jump.