Worst seems over in NZ car sales

THE decline in New Zealand vehicle sales has slowed, with July numbers 25 per cent down on July 2008, at 5740 passenger cars and commercials.

Sales had begun to tilt by the middle of last year, but the comparatively stronger result for the month is seen as promising after June's 36 per cent slide.

Mitsubishi NZ managing director John Leighton said the market appeared to have bottomed out, but Mitsubishi was not planning for any great surge.

“It will be a long slow recovery in parallel with a long slow recovery for the NZ economy,” he said.

“On the positive side, the risk of a ’30s-style world recession seems to have passed, and we shouldn't have any more major economic shocks for a very long time.” That’s good news for Mitsubishi and Honda, which still suffered dramatic downturns of 56 per cent and 62 per cent respectively in July.

By contrast, Korean partners Hyundai (up 24.6 per cent) and Kia (up 43 per cent) were moving in the opposite direction, mirroring their gains in most international markets, including the US and Australia.

Left: Ford Fiesta.

Toyota retained top spot in July, although its sales dropped 31 per cent to 1080 units for an 18.8 per cent share.

Ford was next on 12.4 per cent after Blue Oval sales fell 27.5 per cent to 717 for the month.

Ford NZ managing director Trevor Auger said Ford’s figure was boosted by higher Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo sales than July last year.

However, June’s National Agricultural Fieldays, the largest agricultural show in the southern hemisphere, had an impact on commercial sales. Some distributors held offers into July while others, including Ford, concluded their promotions at the end of June.

Holden recovered from a lowly sixth place in June to third in July. Its 17.1 per cent year-on-year drop to 631 vehicles helped Holden to a larger July share than last year, at 10.9 per cent.

Holden NZ managing director Simon Carr said Holden had its strongest month so far this year.

“We attribute this growth to the excellent public response to the launch of the Holden Cruze which saw 194 registrations in July,” he said.

Hyundai consolidated fourth place for the month, with 7.9 per cent share (455 sales), just ahead of Mazda which fell 27.3 per cent (419 sales).

Nissan’s five-car launch is responsible for its 1.7 per cent increase (406 sales), just ahead of Suzuki (345, down 14.2 per cent).

Mitsubishi took a 56 per cent drop on June last year for 235 sales and four per cent share, ahead of Kia (196, 3.4 per cent).

Mitsubishi’s John Leighton said his company was in a “temporary trough” as it prepared for some new model excitement later this year and early next year.

Honda’s massive 62 per cent fall to 175 sales was despite launching its new City. It holds three per cent share ahead of VW to retain its top-10 listing.

NZ vehicle sales year to date total 39,891, a fall of 32 per cent, and most brands have dropped in line with the industry figure. But Hyundai share is up 1.9 per cent and Kia 1.8 per cent, while Mitsubishi and Honda have fallen further than market trends.

Drops in fleet orders have influenced the year, but Holden’s Simon Carr says: “We believe that businesses which have extended their operating leases to 45 months will now enter a period where they will need to turn over their fleets, and this will have a positive impact on the market.” In general, companies with new product are doing best, but the market will be volatile for some time.

VFACTS

NZ top 10 brands in July::
Rank	Make	Sales	% Share
1	Toyota	1080	18.82%
2	Ford	717	12.49%
3	Holden	631	10.99%
4	Hyundai	455	7.93%
5	Mazda	419	7.3%
6	Nissan	406	7.07%
7	Suzuki	345	6.01%
8	Mitsubishi	235	4.9%
9	Kia	196	3.41%
10	Honda	175	3.05%