NZ sales: November sales strengthen

SIGNS of strength have crept into the New Zealand new-vehicle market with November registrations slightly up on previous months, although down on the same time in 2019.

The Motor Industry Association (MIA) said November sales were 11,889 vehicles, down 14.2 per cent representing 1961 less units compared with November 2019.

MIA chief executive David Crawford said year-to-date, the market is down 22.5 per cent, or 32,364 fewer vehicles, compared with the same period in 2019.

“This is a better result than anticipated back in April when we were in the depths of the COVID-19 lockdown period,” he said.

The MIA last month predicted new-vehicle sales would fall about 25 per cent by the end of the year compared with 2019.

Although the market remains suppressed, the MIA data shows an improvement over October when sales for the 10 months were down 23.5 per cent on 2019.

The November data shows passenger car and SUV sales were 8036 units in November, down 16.6 per cent, or 1604 units, on November 2019. Commercial vehicle sales fell 8.5 per cent (357 units) in the same period to 3853 vehicles in November.

Electrified vehicles represented 1323 units for the month, including the launch of the battery-electric MG ZS EV SUV which sold 60 units in November.

For the year-to-date November, electrified vehicles – EVs, plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and petrol hybrids – have sold 9966 units.

NZ markets 18 battery-electric vehicle models; 26 different hybrid models; and 22 PHEV offerings.

These vehicles have a 9.0 per cent share of the total market on year-to-date figures, compared with 7.0 per cent in the Australian market. NZ does not have a road user tax on electrified vehicles.

The Ford Ranger was the top-selling vehicle in NZ in November with a 26 per cent market share, well above its traditional rival, the Toyota HiLux, with 636 sales that were stunted by the launch of a new model.

Toyota’s RAV4 was the third best selling vehicle with 511 sales followed by a trio of Mitsubishis with the Outlander in fourth (394 sales), then the ASX (369) and Triton (300).

In year-to-date passenger car and SUV sales, the RAV4 remains the country’s most popular and is followed by the Kia Sportage and in third, the Kia Seltos.

No surprises that Toyota is NZ’s biggest-selling brand with 2311 sales in November for a 19 per cent stake, followed by Ford (1524 units or 13 per cent) and Mitsubishi (1263 sales for 11 per cent).

In November, the passenger car and SUV sector was dominated by Toyota with 18 per cent (1452 units) followed by Mitsubishi (12 per cent or 927 units) and Kia with 9.0 per cent market share and 735 units sold.

The best sellers in the car and SUV segment for the month were the Toyota RAV4, then the Mitsubishi Outlander and ASX.

In commercial vehicles, Ford had a 28 per cent share (1094 units) followed by Toyota (22 per cent or 859 units) and then Mitsubishi in third with a 9.0 per cent stake and 336 sales.

The MIA said that smaller vehicles dominated the November sales list, with medium-sized SUVs taking a 20 per cent share of the market. This was followed by the compact SUV segment also with a 20 per cent share, and then the 4x4 ute and cab-chassis segment with 14 per cent of total sales.

Top 10 Brands November 2020

Top 10 Models October 2020