NZ sales: October on a high

NEW ZEALAND’S new-car market has bounced back from a soft September with a stronger October, recording 14,736 registrations last month, up 5.1 per cent on the same period last year.

Overall, the Kiwi market is up 0.3 per cent year-to-date against the first 10 months of 2021.

For October, New Zealanders registered 10,771 passenger cars and SUVs, an increase of 16.5 per cent (or 1525 units) on the same month in 2021 and up 3.6 per cent (or 3397 units) on the same year-to-date period. The increase in sales is credited to stronger deliveries of vehicles on back order.

Toyota led the Kiwi market for passenger and SUV sales in October with a 21 per cent share of the market (2226 units), followed by Mitsubishi with 16 per cent (1767 units) and then Kia with a nine per cent market share (1005 units).

However, Mitsubishi continues to retain the market share lead for passenger and SUV year-to-date sales with a 15 per cent slice of the pie (14,970 units), closely followed by Toyota also with a 15 per cent share (14,152 units) and then Kia with an 11 per cent share (10,181 units).

The top-selling passenger and SUV models for the month of October were the Mitsubishi Outlander (pictured) with 1030 units ahead of the Toyota RAV4’s 746 units and the Toyota Corolla’s 478 units.

Registrations of 3965 commercial vehicles, however, were down on the same month last year, falling 16.9 per cent (or 808 units). The commercial vehicle market is likewise down against 2021’s year-to-date numbers, slipping 6.7 per cent (or 2922 units) on the first 10 months of 2021.

The MIA says the market for light commercial vehicles has strengthened over recent months but is still running behind 2021 year-to-date.

Ford regained the commercial vehicle sector lead in October with a 39 per cent market share (1541 units) followed by Toyota with 19 per cent (743 units) and Mitsubishi in third with a six per cent market share (252 units).

The Ford Ranger took top spot for the month of October as the best-selling light commercial model with a 38 per cent share (1491 units) followed by the Toyota HiLux with a 16 per cent share (638 units) and the Mitsubishi Triton in third place with six per cent market share (230 units).

Market share year-to-date shows the Ford Ranger has regained the lead (22 per cent share and 8939 units) followed by the Toyota HiLux (20 per cent share and 8256 units) and then the Mitsubishi Triton (14 per cent share and 5546 units).

Registrations of heavy commercial vehicles remained steady at 708 units for the month.

Sales of electrified vehicles continue to climb across the ditch with BEV, PHEV and hybrid model sales performing well.

There were 1125 light and 25 heavy BEVs registered in October, including 206 examples of the BYD Atto 3, 169 of the MG ZS and 167 Tesla Model Y variants.

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models were likewise strong with 919 units registered for the month. Buyers favoured the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (409 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (313 units) and then the MG HS (83 units).

Hybridised vehicle registrations totalled 2281 units for the month of October, the top three positions held by the Toyota RAV4 (599 units), Toyota Yaris Cross (237 units) and Honda Jazz (231 units).

For October, Toyota led the overall market with a 20 per cent share (2969 units) ahead of Mitsubishi (14 per cent and 2019 units) and Ford (13 per cent and 1972 units).

Market share year-to-date also places Toyota in the lead with an 18 per cent slice (24,091 units), followed by Mitsubishi with a 15 per cent share (20,890 units) and Ford with eight per cent (11,649 units).

Market segmentation shows New Zealand buyers prefer vehicles positioned within the medium SUV segment (25 per cent) followed by compact SUVs (23 per cent) and 4x4 utes (15 per cent).

Top 10 sales by make (October, passenger, SUV and commercial):

Top 10 sales by model (October, passenger and SUV):

Top 10 sales by model (October, commercial):