NZ sales: Steady new-car sales drop continues

THE ongoing economic effects of COVID-19 have seen new-vehicle sales in New Zealand slide 20.6 per cent for the month of October, consistent with the fall predicted by the country’s peak industry body.

The Motor Industry Association (MIA) has said that it expects overall new-vehicle sales to fall around 25 per cent by the end of the year compared with 2019, with the current year-to-date slide sitting at 23.5 per cent.

A total of 11,876 new vehicles were sold in October, down 3089 units compared to the same period in 2019, with passenger cars and SUVs suffering the most.

Combined sales of passenger cars and SUVs fell by 22 per cent to 8296 units, while commercial vehicles fared slightly better, only falling by 17.4 per cent with 753 sales.

SUVs were the dominant force in the NZ market, tallying 6175 total units, with compact SUVs making up 23 per cent of total new-vehicle sales, and medium SUVs following close behind at 18 per cent.

Unsurprisingly, Toyota again ruled the roost with 2070 sales for a 17 per cent market share, matching its year-to-date share which totals 16,852 units, down on the 20 per cent share it held at the end of 2019.

Its performance was spearheaded by the HiLux pick-up with 731 sales – making it the most popular vehicle in the country – no doubt helped by the arrival of the heavily updated version in late August.

Toyota was helped by strong performances from the Corolla small car (315), RAV4 medium SUV (291), HiAce van (195) and Yaris light car (146), the latter of which was recently released in new-generation guise.

Ford finished in second place with 1288 sales and an 11 per cent overall share, helped primarily by the strong-selling Ranger pick-up, which finished second overall with 686 sales, representing over half the brand’s total volume.

Hot on the heels of Ford was Kia with 1276 sales, with the South Korean brand striking a chord with SUV buyers, being October’s best-selling brand for combined passenger vehicles and SUVs.

The Sportage medium SUV proved the most popular of all non-commercial vehicles with 488 sales (third overall), followed closely by the one-size-smaller Seltos (471).

Mitsubishi finished fourth with 983 sales, with the ASX small SUV (292), Triton pick-up (282) and Outlander medium SUV (204) all performing strongly.

Mazda rounded out the top five with 795 sales (seven per cent share) with the CX-5 medium SUV (279) and new BT-50 pick-up (118) both finding favour with buyers.

Suzuki’s popularity across the ditch was evidenced by a sixth-place finish with 643 sales, achieved on the back of the segment-leading Swift light hatch (232) as well as the Vitara small SUV (142) and pint-sized Jimny off-roader (137).

Nissan and Hyundai placed seventh and eighth respectively with 612 and 607 sales, with the Navara (212) the fourth-most popular ute and the Hyundai Tucson SUV (182) the eighth most popular SUV.

Rounding out the top ten were German brands Volkswagen (389) and Mercedes-Benz (293), the latter of which led its primary rivals BMW (176) and Audi (160).

Year-to-date, Toyota has sold 16,850 units, leading Ford (9901), Mitsubishi (8099) and Kia (6987).

Top 10 Brands October 2020

Top 10 Models October 2020