February 2023 New Vehicle Registrations Hit For A Six By Cyclone Gabrielle

Motor Industry Association Chief Executive David Crawford says that on the back of recent floods and the widespread disruption caused by cyclone Gabrielle, February 2023 registrations of 9,541 new vehicles were 23.7 % down (2,960 units) on February 2022. It was the lowest month of February since 2014.

Registrations of 6,259 passenger and SUVs were down 18.1% (1,386 units) and registrations of 3,282 commercial vehicles were down 32.4% (1,574 units) on last February.

Registrations of new battery electric vehicles were softer than the last quarter of 2022, however, registrations of non-plugin hybrids remain strong.

The recent weather events on the back of softening economy were a double whammy for the new vehicle sector in the month of February. While we expect demand for new vehicles in coming months to increase to replace those written off by recent weather events, high inflation combined with logistical delays due to road infrastructure creates a degree of uncertainty in the market.

Key points

• February 2023 registrations of new vehicles were 23.7% down (2,960 units) on February 2022.
• There were 773 BEVs, 354 PHEVs and 1,237 hybrid vehicles registered in February.
• The trend to the smaller end of vehicle size continues with 58% of vehicles registered for the month being medium or smaller.
• The Ford Ranger, followed by the Toyota Hilux and then the Suzuki Swift were the top three models for the month.
• There were 599 registrations of heavy commercial vehicles for the month of February, up from 565 in the month in 2022.

Market leaders in February / 2023

Toyota retained the overall market lead for the month of February with 18% market share (1,688 units), followed by Ford with 12% (1,187) units and Suzuki with 8% market share (768 units).

BEVs, PHEVs and Hybrids

There were 765 light vehicle BEVs and 8 heavy vehicle BEVs registered in February. The top models were the BYD Atto3 (143 units) followed by the MG ZS (104 units) and the Tesla Model Y (95 units).

There were 354 PHEV’s registered for the month of February. The top models were the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (170 units) followed by the Kia Sorento (32 units) and the Ford Escape (23 units).

Registrations of Hybrid vehicles (HEVs) were strong compared to overall registrations with 1,237 vehicles registered in February. The top models were the Suzuki Swift (171 units), followed by the Honda Jazz (151) and the Toyota RAV4 (122 units).

SUV and passenger vehicle sales February / 2023

Suzuki was the market leader for passenger and SUV registrations in February with 12% market share (767 units) followed by Toyota also with 12% (744 units) and then Hyundai with 9% market share (562 units).

The top selling passenger and SUV models for the month were the Suzuki Swift (487 units) followed by the MG ZS (234 units) and the Hyundai Kona (217 units of which 94 were BEVs).

Commercial vehicle sales February / 2023

For the month of February, Toyota retained the market lead with 29% market share (944 units) followed by Ford with 28% (932 units) and Mitsubishi third with 7% market share (234 units).

The top models for the month of February were the Ford Ranger (859 units), closely followed by the Toyota Hilux (849 units) and the Mitsubishi Triton (230 units).

Segmentation – What Are Consumers Buying

The tops spots were the SUV compact segment with 19% share followed by SUV medium vehicles with 18% then the Pick Up/Chassis 4x4 segment also with 18% market share.

The small to medium segments comprised 58% of the total market.

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