New vehicle market starts the year strongly

Media Release

For Immediate Release
3 February 2004

New vehicle market starts the year strongly

A total of 7235 new vehicles were registered in New Zealand in January, continuing the buoyant selling conditions which have been a feature of the market over the last two years. Sales of 5713 passenger cars just pipped January 2003, and made 2004 the biggest January since 1990. At 1522, there were more new commercial vehicles sold than in any January since 1984.

“This was a great start to the year,” said Perry Kerr, CEO of the Motor Industry Association. “After such a huge December we may have expected the market to pause for a breath in January, but this was not the case. The market certainly seems to have gained a lot of momentum and we look forward to this level of activity continuing for some time yet. It’s certainly a great time to buy a new vehicle, with real prices as low as they’ve ever been, together with the promise of lower depreciation compared to years gone by.”

Toyota continued as market leader overall thanks to a strong month in commercial vehicles, but Holden took the passenger car crown by a margin of 92 units, with Ford in third place.

In the individual model stakes, Holden Commodore was the runaway best-seller with 642 sales, nearly 300 ahead of Ford Falcon’s 350. Toyota Corolla was third with 339.

ENDS

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