NZ Sales: 2023 totals ‘significantly impacted’

NEW ZEALAND has recorded full-year new vehicle sales of 149,260 units in 2023, down 9.5 per cent on the year prior.

Despite a record year for new low emissions vehicles (59,952), sales of traditional motive powered passenger and light commercial vehicles are well down on last year’s record-setting 116,440 unit achievement.

On a full-year basis, 2023 ended 9.5 per cent lower than 2022 and 9.8 per cent lower than 2021.

The top three market leaders for 2023 were Toyota with a 21.7 per cent share of the overall market (32,359 new vehicle sales), followed by Ford with 10.9 per cent (16,178 units) and Mitsubishi with 9.0 per cent (13,401 units).

The breakdown of new vehicle registrations for 2023 sees light passenger models in the lead (with 110,488 units) ahead of light commercial vehicles (30,611) and heavy commercial vehicles (7907).

Total industry sales figures by motive power for 2023 saw internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles hold the majority share of 59.8 per cent (89,054 units) ahead of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) with 19.7 per cent (29,343 units), battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with 14.5 per cent (21,621 units), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) with 6.0 per cent (8988 units).

By segment, the top three best-sellers in 2023 were SUV Medium (27.0 per cent) followed by SUV Compact (20.5 per cent) and Pick-Up/Cab-Chassis 4x4 (13.3 per cent).

The Ford Ranger was New Zealand’s best-selling vehicle for the calendar year, amassing sales of 9907 units ahead of the Toyota RAV4 (8757) and Toyota HiLux (8054).

For the month of December, a total of just 9768 new vehicles were registered across NZ, down 17.5 per cent on the 2022 tally and 19.3 per cent on 2021.

New Zealand Motor Industry Association chief executive Aimee Wiley said light passenger registrations in December 2023 were comparable to those of December 2022, though light commercial vehicle sales were “significantly impacted” by the hold-off of buyers awaiting the end of the Clean Car Discount fees.

In December (2023), the overall market leaders were Toyota with 19.4 market share points (1892 units), Ford with 9.0 market share points (882 units), and MG with 8.2 market share points (804 units).

December registrations favoured light passenger vehicles considerably (8564) ahead of light commercial (624) and heavy commercial models (580).

In terms of motive power, the results for the month of December showed battery electric vehicles (BEVs) holding a 35.5 per cent share (3469 units) ahead of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with 27.5 per cent (2691 units), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) with 26.8 per cent (2621 units), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) with 10.1 per cent (987 units).

The top three most popular new vehicle segments for December 2023 were SUV Medium (31.7 per cent) followed by SUV Compact (18.2 per cent) and Small Vehicle (15.1 per cent).

December’s best-selling vehicles included the MG 4 (623 units), Toyota RAV4 (439 units) and Honda Jazz (437 units).

Top 10 sales by Make (December passenger, SUV and commercial):

Top 10 sales by Model (December passenger and SUV):

Top 10 sales by Model (December commercial):

Top 10 sales by Make (2023 passenger, SUV and commercial):

Top 10 sales by Model (2023 passenger and SUV):

Top 10 sales by Model (2023 commercial):

*All figures are supplied courtesy of the Motor Industry Association of New Zealand.