NZ Sales: September sales remain soft

NEW ZEALAND’S Motor Industry Association (MIA) says new vehicle registrations remained soft in September with just 10,909 units sold – a decrease of 26.7 per cent on the same month last year (when 14,878 units were sold), 20.0 per cent lower than the monthly average for 2022 (13,641 units), and 12.4 per cent lower than the monthly average so far in 2023.

According to MIA chief executive, Aimee Wiley, September’s poor results is likely caused by both tougher economic conditions and continued uncertainty surrounding the Clean Car Discount, which currently hinges on the result of NZ’s upcoming election.

Ms Wiley said such uncertainty “considerably impacted consumer demand in September” with both passenger and commercial sales “soft”.

Kiwis registered just 8150 passenger cars and SUVs in September, down 23.1 per cent or 2451 units on the same month last year, and just 2759 light- and heavy commercial vehicles, down 35.5 per cent on September 2022 or 1518 units (split between 2011 light commercial and 748 heavy commercial sales).

The top three overall market leaders for September 2023 were Toyota with a 24.2 per cent market share and 2644 units sold, ahead of second-place Ford with 10.3 per cent and 1125 units, and Mitsubishi with 9.2 per cent and 1006 units.

Passenger sales favoured the Tesla Model Y (697 units), Toyota RAV4 (683 units), and Toyota Yaris Cross (316 units), while light commercial vehicle sales again saw the Ford Ranger (605 units) and Toyota HiLux (540 units) take the top two places over Mitsubishi’s Triton (198 units).

Indeed, the popularity of individual models reflects New Zealand buyer’s overall vehicle preference, which coincidently closely resembles that of Australia’s. The top three market segments in September were SUV Medium (28.9 per cent), SUV Compact (18.9 per cent) and 4x4 Pick-Up/Cab-Chassis (12.4 per cent).

There was a significant shift toward electrification in September with battery electric vehicle sales totalling a healthy 2067 unit sales. The MIA says a spike in consumer demand resulted in the BEV segment share jumping from an average of 13.9 per cent (January 2022) to a “staggering” 24.9 per cent in September 2023.

Popular BEV models include the Tesla Model Y (pictured, with 697 unit sales), the MG 4 (250 units) and BYD Atto 3 (136 units).

Hybrid vehicle sales tallied 2190 units for the month (or 26.9 per cent of the passenger segment) and plug-in hybrid models 768 (or 9.4 of the passenger segment), while internal combustion engine sales numbered 5884 units (including 3163 passenger sales for a 38.8 per cent of the passenger segment).

PHEV sales saw the Mitsubishi Outlander (220 units) and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (157 units) outpace the third-place Mini Countryman (69 units), while HEV favourites included the Toyota RAV4 (495 units), Toyota Corolla (269 units) and the Ford Escape (154 units).

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

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

Top 10 sales by Model (September commercial):

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