Toyota NZ’s new-vehicle trade plunges 31%
Toyota New Zealand saw its new-vehicle sales slump by nearly one-third in 2020 compared to the previous year, with the company mostly blaming the impacts of Covid-19.
Annual sales fell 31 per cent as the pandemic weighed on rental fleet sales, because of the halt of international tourism through the closure of borders, and the local economy.
Toyota NZ sold 21,600 new passenger and light commercial vehicles in 2020, down from 31,026 the previous year.
Despite the drop amid tough trading conditions for the automotive industry, the marque reports business was strong towards the end of the year and it increased its annual share of the new-vehicle market.
Neeraj Lala, chief executive, says the lift in activity in late 2020 could be attributed to several factors, including private demand for newly introduced models across the Toyota range.
“Excluding our rental volume, our market share has improved by 2.4 per cent, which is a great result despite the challenges of 2020,” he explains.
Toyota NZ’s private market share was up 2.6 per cent at the end of November when compared to the same point of 2019.
“Toyota has made a real effort over the past few years to inject fun back into the range which is resonating with our customers,” says Lala. “We currently have over 5,700 customer orders waiting to be filled as we move into 2021.”
The company finished 2020 with an 18.1 per cent share of all new passenger and commercial registrations.
Lala notes a growing demand for low carbon-emitting vehicles, with more than 36 per cent of the company’s sales now being hybrids.
Hybrid sales are outstripping petrol-only cars and SUVs across the Toyota range. In the year to the end of December, hybrids accounted for 59 per cent of Toyota passenger cars sold and 59 per cent of its SUV trade.
“If there is a challenge with hybrid sales it is securing enough supply for New Zealand, as there is a global demand for hybrid cars and SUVs, despite the economic impact of Covid-19,” says Lala.
The clamour among buyers for hybrids has grown since 2017, when such models accounted for just seven per cent of all new Toyota passenger car sales.
No Toyota hybrid SUVs were sold in 2017 but the company offloaded more than 5,000 such units in 2020.
The RAV4 is the main driver behind the increase, with 5,346 units– 3,830 of which are hybrids – delivered during the year and 574 pre-sold units on their way from Japan.
Toyota NZ has also appointed Steve Prangnell, pictured below, to general manager of new vehicle sales from the start of 2021.
