New Vehicle Market Remains Soft

4 November 2011

New Vehicle Market Remains Soft

The new vehicle market remains soft as buyers focussed on the Rugby World Cup. Just released NZTA registration data shows total new vehicle sales of 7,026 which was down 3.7% on October 2010. New passenger car sales of 5,428 were down 438 units (7.5%) on October 2010, however commercial sales of 1,431 were up 11.7% (167 units) on the corresponding month last year.

“We were disappointed in the overall sales numbers as the Japanese industry has finally got back on its feet following the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami,” said Mr Kerr Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Industry Association. “Unfortunately production of utes is now taking a hit due to the extensive flooding in Thailand which has closed the vast majority of parts manufacturers. This has resulted in the vehicle manufacturers ceasing production. Looking forward our expectation is that November will remain weak as buyers attention is diverted towards the forthcoming election. We however remain hopeful that total new vehicle sales for the full year will exceed 2010,” said Mr Kerr.

Breaking down the market Toyota remains in top position for passenger car sales (1,333 registrations), followed by Hyundai (657 registrations) who moved into second place. Holden was third with 597 registrations. Year to date sees these last two positions reversed with Holden second (5,379) and Hyundai third (5,289). In the commercial segment it is very much status quo. Toyota leads with 467 sales, Ford second with 244 sales and Nissan third on 147 sales. These positions were repeated for the year to date totals.

The top selling model for the month was the Toyota Corolla with 528 registrations (this number being boosted by rental vehicle sales), the Hyundai I30 with 309 registrations and the Toyota Yaris with 305. In the commercial segment Toyota Hilux led with 286 registrations, followed by the Ford Ranger at 204 with the Toyota Hiace in third with 185 sales.

Sheet 1: Detailed figures for top 15 distributors, full year 2010, month of October and full year 2011, total vehicles, new cars and new commercials.

Sheet 2: Detailed figures for top 15 selling models - passenger cars and commercials- full year 2010, month of October and full year 2011, and the top 15 rental cars for October 2011.

ENDS

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