NZ sales: Another bumper year predicted

NEW-VEHICLE sales in New Zealand exceeded 15,000 units in October for only the second time since records began, as the country heads towards another year-end record.

Last month’s tally of 15,530 overall sales was the best October on record and was second only to June’s 15,985 total, prompting New Zealand Motor Industry Association chief executive officer David Crawford to predict another bumper result come the end of December.

“The 2017 new vehicle market is expected to easily break through the 150,000 new vehicles mark for the first time,” he said.

The haul was a 7.0 per cent increase compared with October last year, while the year-to-date tally is up 9.3 per cent over the first 10 months of 2016 to 133,766 units.

Sales of passenger cars and SUVs grew last month by 3.0 per cent to 11,114 and light-commercial vehicles continued their upward trajectory, rising by 12.8 per cent to 4416 units.

A huge sales boost for the Toyota Corolla meant that small passenger cars were the largest segment last month, with a 20 per cent share, followed by medium SUVs on 15 per cent and pick-up/cab chassis 4x4s with a 13 per cent market share.

The Corolla had a huge month, recording a whopping 46 per cent jump over October 2016’s result with 1772 units shifted, more than enough to leapfrog the Ford Ranger (853) and Toyota HiLux (762) pick-ups that have dominated the model sales all year.

Of the Corolla’s total, a massive 1589 – or 90 per cent – were rental company purchases.

Unless something unexpected happens in the next two months, the Ranger is likely to be the top seller for the year, with 7950 units sold to the end of October, edging out the HiLux on 7045 and the Corolla with 5867.

The big month for Corolla and HiLux was backed up by strong showings from the RAV4 (479) and Highlander/Kluger (334), ensuring Toyota continued to dominate the overall market, recording 4457 sales, a 35 per cent lift on last October, and enough for a 28.7 share.

Ford’s sales (1530) were 5.8 per cent off the same month last year, and while the Ranger (853) made up 56 per cent of Ford’s overall sales in NZ, the Focus small car (212) and Transit van (95) also added to the total.

Holden, meanwhile, continued its dramatic sales slide, dropping by 28 per cent to 1341 units, with the Colorado its top seller in the ninth spot with 308 sales, while the Commodore – that ended production in Australia last month – was 12th with 248.

Mazda crept up by 2.7 per cent to hold onto fourth place after strong sales from the Mazda3 and CX-5, but Mitsubishi’s big 27 per cent increase saw it capture 971 sales, led by the ever popular ASX crossover which was the eighth best selling car in NZ last month.

Hyundai enjoyed a bumper month with a 45 per cent hike over last October, which pushed Nissan to seventh overall after a 22 per cent slide.

Kia’s resurgence continued with a 28 per cent jump over last October, hitting 585 sales thanks to the Sportage’s haul of 354, of which 100 were rentals.

A strong showing from the new-generation Swift hatchback ensured Suzuki sales grew 33.7 per cent, while Volkswagen rounded out the top 10 with 400 units, a 16 per cent slide.

Toyota was the market leader in the passenger and SUV segment with 31 per cent market share (3410 units), followed by Holden on 9 per cent (1006) and Mazda with 8.0 per cent of the market (903).

Brand T also led the LCV segment with 24 per cent (1047) followed by Ford with 21 per cent (948) and Holden in third with 8.0 per cent (335).

As well as the Corolla’s big haul, the other top selling rentals were the RAV4 and Highlander, followed by the Mazda3 and Mitsubishi ASX.

NZ Top 10 makes October 2017

Rank	Make	Sales	Share %
1	Toyota	4457	28.7
2	Ford	1530	9.8
3	Holden	1341	8.6
4	Mazda	1096	7.0
5	Mitsubishi	971	6.2
6	Hyundai	862	5.5
7	Nissan	608	3.9
8	Kia	585	3.8
9	Suzuki	560	3.6
10	Volkswagen	400	2.5