NZ Sales: Notable rise in September

WHILE New Zealand’s new car sales remain impaired by a sluggish economy, September numbers indicate a notable rise in vehicle registrations, spurred primarily by rental fleet purchases.

New vehicle registrations for September increased 8.0 per cent (or 868 units) over the same time last year, reflecting a 12.8 per cent improvement over the average monthly result year to date.

In total, 11,777 new vehicles were registered in September, taking the YTD total to 93,831 – down 16.1 per cent compared with the same time in 2023 and 23.5 per cent compared with 2022.

New Zealand’s Motor Industry Association (MIA) says the light passenger segment has struggled with reduced volume and “a significant shift in consumer demand motive power preferences”.

However, “robust rental vehicle registrations” during August and September have assisted dealers in moving stock and suggest what the MIA says are “early signs of potential recovery”.

Across the light passenger vehicle segment (which in New Zealand includes SUVs), we find 8590 units registered in September, marking a 5.4 per cent increase on the year prior.

That said, year-to-date figure indicated a more substantial decline, with sales down 23.3 per cent compared with the same point in 2023 – a decrease of 18,665 units.

Of the light passenger vehicles sold in September 2024, we find the majority were to business buyers (3078 units or 35.8 per cent) ahead of rental fleet buyers (2756 units or 32.1 per cent) private buyers (2632 units and 30.7 per cent).

Top selling light passenger models include the Toyota RAV4 (1172 units and 13.6 market share points), Toyota Yaris Cross (384 units and 4.5 per cent share), and Mitsubishi ASX (379 units and 4.4 per cent share).

Those numbers reflect a clear segmentation shift for a preference towards Medium segment SUVs (34.8 per cent).

On the light commercial vehicle (LCV) front, we find 2586 registrations across September 2024 reflecting a significant increase of 28.6 per cent (or 575 units) on the year prior.

YTD registrations in the LCV segment have seen modest growth of 2.5 per cent (or 683 units) compared with the same period in 2023.

Again, business buyers are the predominant force in the segment purchasing 1904 units (or 73.6 per cent) of the total number of LCVs sold for the month. Private buyers placed second (409 units and 15.8 per cent) and rental buyers third (273 units and 10.6 per cent).

Reflecting trends across the ditch, the Ford Ranger placed number one on the September ladder with 928 units sold (and 35.9 market share points). It led the Toyota HiLux in second place (624 units and 24.1 per cent) and Mitsubishi Triton in third place (270 units and 10.4 per cent).

Four-wheel drive pick-up and cab-chassis models ruled the roost with a 67.4 per cent slice of the action overall.

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):

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