New vehicle sales start 2012 on a high

Media Release 7 February 2012

New vehicle sales start 2012 on a high

Motor Trade Association (MTA) says the new vehicle market started 2012 on a high, due mainly to the strongest passenger car sales for a single month since January 2008.

Commenting, MTA spokesperson Ian Stronach, Marketing and Communications General Manager said “While January traditionally provides a strong start to the year, this is even better than most had predicted. A combination of good product availability and some aggressive marketing campaigns has obviously made January a good time to buy.”

Figures just released by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) show that in January 2012, 8,681 new vehicles were sold compared to 6,476 in December 2011, an increase of 2,205 units (34 percent). Compared to January 2011, overall sales were up by 1,158 units (15 percent).

The strong start to the year was led by new passenger car sales of 7,499 units which was up by a massive 2,173 units (41 percent) compared to December 2011. Sales were also up by 1,289 units (21 percent) compared to January 2011.

New commercial vehicle sales were more subdued however. Sales of 1,182 units were just 30 units (3 percent) ahead of December 2011 but down 131 units (10 percent) compared to January 2011.

Stronach said “While there was a certain familiarity to the performances of some models and makes, the market is continuing to evolve. As we have seen, there are significant changes happening to the make-up of the market; traditional segments are being replaced with new types of vehicles, and the old order no longer holds sway. 2012 will continue to demonstrate these changes – it’s all part of the dynamic nature of the market and customer outlook.”

Toyota continued where it left off in 2011, easily leading the sales race for passenger cars; its 1,740 sales gave it top spot and a 23 percent share of the market. Some way behind in second spot was Holden with 794 sales and an 11 percent share with Hyundai taking third place with sales of 780 units and a 10 percent share of the market.

Once again Toyota Corolla led the way in terms of individual model sales with 828 units, followed by Suzuki Swift with 382 units and Hyundai i30 with 312 units.

Toyota Hiace was the leading commercial vehicle with sales of 132 units, followed by Ford Ranger with 95 units which just headed off Nissan Navara on 94 units.

In the first month of a restricted supply environment, sales of first time used imported passenger cars were predictably soft. Sales of 6,375 units were down 1,129 units (15 percent) compared to December 2011, and 693 units (10 percent) compared to January 2011.

Despite what has so far been an average summer, the road-going motorcycle market had one of its best months for some time. Sales of 614 units were 80 units (15 percent) ahead of December 2011 and 107 units (21 percent) ahead of January 2011. The largest share of the market went to smaller (less than 250cc) machines, with Suzuki’s GN125H enjoying particular success with sales of 69 units for an 11 percent share of the total market!

ENDS

Motorcycle_Registrations_YTD.pdf
New_Passenger_Registrations_YTD.pdf
Used_Passenger_Registrations_YTD.pdf

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