OCTOBER has become New Zealand’s second-best sales month in 2024 with 12,571 new cars sold, trailing this year’s highest month (January) by just 78 units.
The month’s total was, however, 2.9 per cent (or 373 units) lower than the same time last year, with year-to-date sales down by 14.7 per cent when compared with 2023 (18,410 units).
As witnessed repeatedly in recent months, rental fleet renewal has escalated growth in light passenger vehicle sales (which in NZ includes SUVs) across the country.
Rental fleet sales contributed to 36.5 per cent of New Zealand’s October registrations, rising from 31.7 per cent in October last year.
Year-to-date, rental fleet sales contributed to 14.3 per cent of all New Zealand’s light passenger vehicle sales, slightly up from 12.6 per cent in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, light passenger vehicle market share declined by 2.1 per cent in October and by 5.5 per cent year-to-date, suggesting stable but slightly reduced demand in this traditionally dominant segment.
“October’s vehicle registration data indicates stability in core segments and emerging trends that reflect a gradual evolution in the market,” said Motor Industry Association chief executive Aimee Wiley.
“With light commercial vehicles gaining popularity and light passenger vehicles holding a leading position, the industry is adapting to changing consumer preferences and economic factors.”
A total of 9506 light passenger vehicles were registered in October, including 1354 Toyota RAV4s (or 14.2 market share points), 544 examples of the Kia Seltos (5.7 market share points), and 537 Mitsubishi ASX registrations (5.6 market share points).
Light commercial vehicles achieved an 18.9 per cent share of the market in October, up from 16.9 per cent in October last year.
Year-to-date, light commercial vehicle sales represent 26.9 per cent of all of NZ’s new vehicle sales, rising from 22.3 per cent in 2023.
Light commercial vehicles totalled 2379 units for the month, an increase of 8.4 per cent on October 2023.
Strong-selling models include the Ford Ranger (732 units or 30.8 per cent share), the Toyota HiLux (652 units or 27.4 per cent share), and the Mitsubishi Triton (251 units or 10.6 per cent share).
On the heavy commercial vehicle front, and reflecting a consistent year-to-date trend, October registrations of this category remained solid at 686 units.
Mercedes-Benz leads the sector with 139 units (or 20.3 market share points), the Sprinter accounting for 134 of those sales to become the number one seller in October.
Iveco placed second with 94 sales, and the Iveco Daily the second-best selling model with 81 deliveries. Isuzu placed third with 79 sales, of which 36 were the N Series.
Overall, Toyota again leads the NZ new car sales charts with 3221 units sold across the month of October (or 26 per cent of the market).
Ford takes a distant second place with 1498 sales (or a 12 per cent share) and Mitsubishi is a close third with 1425 vehicles sold (an 11 per cent share).
In October, New Zealand buyers chose more internal combustion engine vehicles than any other propulsion type (8221 units or 65.4 per cent), these conventional powertrains leading hybridised vehicles (in second place on 3347 units for a 26.6 per cent market share), battery electric vehicles in third place (658 units/5.2 per cent), and plug-in hybrid vehicles in fourth place (345 units/2.7 per cent).
Top 10 NZ sales by Make (October passenger, SUV and commercial):
Top 10 sales by Model (October passenger and SUV):
Top 10 sales by Model (October commercial):
*All figures are supplied courtesy of the Motor Industry Association of New Zealand.
