NZ sales: April sales steadier

NEW ZEALAND new vehicle sales were up 4.6 per cent (or 443 units) on the same month last year, with a total of 10,117 units registered for the month of April.

Noting that the numbers may be artificially higher, owing to the April 2022 introduction of the Clean Car Discount, Motor Industry Association (MIA) chief executive Aimee Wiley says the steadying of New Zealand’s new car market is a positive sign that supplies are beginning to normalise.

Despite the optimistic outlook, the MIA chief noted a downtick in passenger and SUV sales, which dropped 17.1 per cent (or 1454 units) on the same time last year. Conversely, commercial registrations took an upward swing, with a 155.5 per cent improvement on April 2022, and some 3117 units registered.

Registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were again led by the popular BYD Atto 3 (pictured, 184 unit sales), Tesla Model Y (127) and MG ZS (112). There were 1058 light passenger vehicle BEVs, 27 light-commercial BEVs and two heavy-commercial BEVs registered in New Zealand across April.

Likewise, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) remain strong as a percentage of NZ’s overall sales, with a total of 1783 units registered for the month. The top models were all Toyotas, including the RAV 4 (493), Highlander (157) and Corolla (143).

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) accounted for around half the number of their full electric brethren with 565 units registered for the month. The best-selling models were the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (284), Kia Sorento (84) and Ford Escape (56).

The MIA noted that the sale of light-commercial models was the weakest since the Global Financial Crisis and says sales of workhorse models have “struggled to regain strong performance” under the Clean Car Discount program. It is expected the toughening of CCD provisions from July 1 will impact the sales of such models to an even greater degree.

For April, the Pick Up/Chassis 4x4 segment comprised 15 per cent of all new vehicles registered in New Zealand.

Ford led the commercial market segment in April with a 31 per cent slice of the action (974 units) followed by Toyota with 29 per cent (895) and Mitsubishi with an eight per cent share (256). The top-selling models for the month were the Ford Ranger (929 units), Toyota HiLux (653) and Mitsubishi Triton (256).

Despite Ford’s dominance in the commercial vehicle sector, it was Toyota that retained the overall market lead for the month of April, with a 22 per cent share (2261 units) of New Zealand’s new car business. Ford placed second with 13 per cent (1320) and Mitsubishi third with a nine per cent share (933).

Toyota also retained the market lead for passenger and SUV registrations in April with a 19 per cent market share (1366 units), followed by Kia with 10 per cent (715) and Mitsubishi, also on 10 per cent but with 677 unit sales.

The top selling passenger and SUV models for the month were the Toyota RAV4 (with 539 units sold), followed by the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (327) and Suzuki Swift (276).

Not surprisingly, the MIA says the Small to Medium vehicle segments comprise 59 per cent of the total market.

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

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

Top 10 sales by Model (April commercial):

Note: all figures are supplied courtesy of the Motor Industry Association of New Zealand.