New Vehicle Registrations Bounce Back In May 2022

Motor Industry Association Chief Executive David Crawford says that 13,337 registrations of new vehicles for the month of May were strong given current production constraints, weakening market conditions and geopolitical factors.

Registrations of 10,575 passenger cars and SUV’s were up 5.6% (563 units) on the same month last year and were the strongest month of May on record. However, registrations of 2,762 new commercial vehicles were down 39.2% (1,778 units) on May last year and are likely to remain subdued in coming months due to the effect of the clean car taxes.

Overall, registrations of new vehicles were down 8.4% (1,215 units) on May 2021. Year to date the market is up 0.7% (491 units) compared to the first five months of 2021.

With high fuel prices, increasing costs of living and higher interest rates, sales of new vehicles are expected to progressively soften as the year progresses.

Key points

Overall, May 2022 registrations of 13,337 vehicles were down 8.4% (1,215 units) on the same month in 2021, and are 0.7% up (491 units) on 2021 year to date.

There were 629 pure electric vehicles, 762 PHEV’s and 1,663 petrol hybrid vehicles sold for the month.

Registration of 10,575 passenger and SUVs for May 2022 were up 5.6% (563 units) on May 2021, while commercial vehicle registrations of 2,762 were down 39.2% (1,778 units) compared to May 2021.

The top three models for the month of May were the Toyota Hilux (942 units), followed by the Toyota RAV4 (923 units) with the Mitsubishi Outlander in third place (824 units).

Registrations of heavy vehicles remains solid with 588 units for the month.

Market leaders in May / 2022

Toyota retained the overall market leader with 23% market share (3,074 units), followed by Mitsubishi with 14% (1,848 units) and Kia in third spot with 13% market share (1,713 units).

Market share year to date, Mitsubishi retains the lead with 17%, followed by Toyota 15% share and then Ford with 9%.

BEVs, PHEVs and Hybrids

There were 617 light vehicle and 12 heavy vehicle full battery electric vehicles registered in May. The top selling models were the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (102 units) followed by the Kia EV6 (80 units) and the Polestar 2 (77 units).

Registrations of plug-in hybrids were steady with 762 units registered for the month. The top selling models were the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (306 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (207 units) and then the MG HS (69 units).

There were 1,663 hybrids registered in the month of May, with the top selling models being the Toyota RAV4 (428 units) followed by the Toyota Corolla (217 units) and the Honda Jazz (192 units).

SUV and passenger vehicle sales May / 2022

Toyota retained the market lead for passenger and SUV registrations with 18% market share (1,911 units) followed by Kia with 16% (1,713 units) and then Mitsubishi also with 16% market share (1,685 units).

The top selling passenger and SUV models for the month were the Toyota RAV4 (923 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (824 units) and the Kia Stonic (564 units).

Commercial vehicle sales May / 2022

In a continuing weak market for light commercial vehicles, Toyota dominated the commercial vehicle sector with 42% market share (1,163 units) followed by Ford with 15% (418 units) and Mitsubishi in third with 6% market share (163 units).

The Toyota Hilux took top spot for the month of May as the bestselling commercial model with 34% share (942 units) followed by the Ford Ranger with 14% share (388 units) and the Toyota Hiace in third place with 7% market share (203 units).

Market share year to date, the Ford Ranger (20% share and 4,670 units) leads followed by the Mitsubishi Triton (19% share and 4,362 units) and then the Toyota Hilux (17% share and 4,015 units).

Segmentation – Growth in the Smaller SUVs

With the weak sales of utes since 1 April, not surprisingly the small to medium segments accounted for 67% of May registrations and 56% share year to date.

The tops spots were the SUV medium segment with 25% share followed by SUV compact vehicles also with 25% then Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x4 with 9% market share.

ENDS

For Further Information:

David Crawford, Chief Executive Officer, Motor Industry Association

Phone: 027 569 8263

Email: david@mia.org.nz

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