NZ Sales: 2024 registrations down 13.5pc

NEW ZEALAND has finished the year with a total of 13.5 per cent fewer new vehicle registrations than in 2023, equating to a reduction of 20,212. The 128,828 unit final figure comes in spite of healthy December sales, the calendar month up 5.6 per cent on the previous year to 10,315 units.

Motor Industry Association (MIA) chief executive Aimee Wiley said the December figures show a partial recover from the market volatility experienced in New Zealand throughout 2024, acknowledging the market’s need for policy stability to support sustained market growth and resilience.

“Looking ahead, the industry’s primary challenge will be navigating the stricter Clean Car Standard targets introduced for importers from 1 January 2025, while simultaneously supporting the transition to lower-emission vehicles,” she stated.

“Achieving this balance is essential to avoid significant vehicle price inflation in 2025 and beyond.”

Ms Wiley said that consumer preferences remain clear, with SUVs and light commercial vehicles continuing to dominate New Zealand’s market.

She also highlighted encouraging trends in hybrid vehicle demand across all segments in 2024, reflecting a gradual shift towards lower-emission vehicles. However, she cautioned that the stricter CO2 targets present significant challenges for importers.

“Consumer demand simply does not align with the stringent CO2 targets for light passenger vehicles in 2025,” she continued.

“Importers face a delicate balancing act to meet these targets and avoid penalties, which could lead to consumer vehicle price inflation unless genuine demand for EVs rebounds significantly in 2025.

“The industry must work collaboratively to address these challenges while ensuring vehicles remain affordable and accessible for New Zealanders,” she concluded.

Year-to-date sales to December 31 show the New Zealand market’s preference for SUV and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) remained consistent with 87,435 SUVs and passenger cars sold against 33,715 LCVs.

The remaining 7678 unit sales are attributed to Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs).

New Zealand preferences for SUVs closely replicated those across the ditch with Medium SUV sales leading the way. Some 30,297 examples of Medium SUVs were registered in NZ over the past 12 months, leading Compact SUV sales (28,042), 4x4 cab-chassis/pick-up sales (23,368), Large SUVs (10,735), and Light passenger cars (6428).

Overall, business purchasers bought more vehicles than private buyers, some 67,631 registrations chalked up to business buyers against 41,229 private buyers. Government and rental fleet purchases took care of the remainder at 2752 and 17,216 units respectively.

Again reflecting trends in the 2024 Australian new car sales calendar, New Zealand buyers opted for petrol and diesel powered vehicles (83,860) over hybrid (34,736), plug-in hybrid (3484), and battery electric (6748) models.

In all, battery electric vehicle sales fell 9.3 per cent over the same time last year, as did PHEV models (down 3.3 per cent). Hybrid sales rose 7.3 per cent while ICE model sales jumped 5.3 per cent.

Japanese marque Toyota led the pack in terms of outright sales, accumulating 30,203 new vehicle registrations across the calendar year and taking a 23 per cent slice of the market. Ford followed with 17,884 unit sales (14 per cent), ahead of Mitsubishi (14,449 / 11 per cent), Kia (8683 / 7 per cent), and Suzuki (5260 / 4 per cent).

Toyota also topped the Passenger and SUV sales charts with its RAV4 mid-sized SUV totalling registrations of 10,533 and a 12 per cent market share.

The RAV4 beat the second-place Mitsubishi ASX with 3763 unit sales (and 4 segment share points), third-place Mitsubishi Outlander (3248 / 4 per cent), fourth-place Kia Seltos (3140 / 4 per cent), and fifth-place Suzuki Swift (2704 / 3 per cent).

Moving to the light commercial vehicle charts and we find the Ford Ranger front and centre with sales of 11,748 units to December 31 – or 28 segment share points. The Toyota HiLux placed second with 7296 unit sales (18 per cent) ahead of the Mitsubishi Triton (4231 / 10 per cent), Nissan Navara (1890 / 5 per cent), and Toyota HiAce (1721 / 4 per cent).

Top 10 sales by Make (2024 passenger, SUV and light commercial):

Top 10 sales by Model (2024 passenger and SUV sales):

Top 10 sales by Model (2024 light commercial vehicle sales):

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