NZ sales: Record February sales show 2021 recovery

NEW Zealand’s new-vehicle industry is going from strength to strength in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with the market chalking up its strongest February ever for new-vehicle sales, up an even 8.0 per cent on the corresponding month last year.

In total, 12,358 new vehicles were registered across all segments in February with the industry up 7.1 per cent year-to-date.

Motor Industry Association (MIA) chief executive David Crawford was pleased with the figures and attributed the record sales to an influx of new-vehicle stock and the resilience of the New Zealand economy.

“The February market has benefitted from recent stock arrivals and a resilient local economy where New Zealanders continue to spend what might otherwise be spent on international travel on new vehicles,” he said.

Of those 12,358 new vehicles, 8634 of them were passenger cars and SUVs and 3724 were light commercials, while 1013 were electrified, including 181 pure-electric vehicles and 80 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

At the top of the tables in terms of makes and models, Toyota maintained its dominance yet again with a 16 per cent market share (2020 sales) on the back of its ever-popular HiLux taking the gong as the top-selling vehicle with 786 units sold.

Mitsubishi once again occupied second place behind its Japanese compatriot with a 13 per cent market share (1608) thanks to a particularly strong month from its ageing Outlander – the venerable medium SUV proved to be the second-best-selling model with 594 sales.

There was something of an upset when it came to third place however with Ford being usurped by Kia with the Korean brand outselling the Blue Oval by just a single unit (1047 vs 1046)

Behind Ford, Mazda once again came home fifth with 970 sales (8% share) ahead of Nissan in sixth (654/5%) and Suzuki in seventh (567/5%).

Hyundai slipped to eighth last month with 560 sales (5%) while Volkswagen stood firm in ninth (393/3%), with Honda rounding out the top 10 (367/3%).

Behind the HiLux and Outlander, the Ford Ranger was once again the third-most popular model with 542 units sold, some 74 units clear of the Mitsubishi Triton in fourth (468).

The rest of the top 10 best-selling models were made up almost entirely of medium and small SUVs, led by the Kia Sportage and Seltos in fifth and sixth respectively (369/361), followed closely by the Mazda CX-5 which chalked up 360 sales.

Eighth went to the Mitsubishi ASX – making it three models for Mitsubishi in the top 10 – with 315 sales while the Suzuki Swift cracked the top 10 with 310 new registrations, the only non-SUV or LCV to do so.

The Toyota RAV4 then rounded out the top 10 with 283 sales – a far cry from the 471 units sold in January.

On the topic of SUV success, compact family haulers once again proved the most popular segment with a 22 per cent market share (2737 vehicles sold).

Medium SUVs put up a strong performance too, also occupying 22 per cent of the market with 2661 new deliveries while 4x4 pick-up trucks once again took third (1735/4%).

NZ Top 10 Brands February 2021

NZ Top 10 Models February 2021