July Vehicle Registrations At 9,430 Indicate Market Resilience Amid Economic Challenges

The Motor Industry Association reports 9,430 vehicle registrations in July 2024. Although this number is below the Year-To-Date (YTD) monthly average of 10,315, it suggests a stabilising trend  within the industry amidst a 21% overall decline compared to 2023 and a 23% drop from 2022. The Light Passenger segment remains the hardest hit, down 29% YTD from 2023, highlighting broader economic challenges. 

Despite the downturn, positive trends persist in commercial vehicle segments. Average monthly Light Commercial vehicle registrations remain stable at 3,023 YTD, close to the 3,084 monthly units recorded in 2023, indicating sustained demand. Heavy Commercial vehicle registrations have grown, reaching an average monthly 643 YTD units, up from 613 average monthly units in 2023 and 553 in 2022. 

Aimee Wiley, Chief Executive of the Motor Industry Association, commented, "The stabilisation in July reflects the resilience of the New Zealand automotive industry." 

New Vehicle Industry Key points 

• The top three overall market leaders in July 2024 were Toyota, with an 18.6% market share (1,758 units), followed by Ford, with 11.4% (1,071 units), and Mitsubishi, with 10.9% (1,025 units). 
• July registrations breakdown: Light Passenger at 6,345, Light Commercial at 2,505 and Heavy  Commercial at 580.  
• Total industry by motive power for July: 566 Battery Electric (6% share), 230 Plug-In Hybrid (2.4% share), 1,978 Mild Hybrid (21% share) and 6,656 ICE vehicles (70.6% share).
• The overall top three segments in July: Pick-up/Chassis Cab (22.3%), followed by SUV Compact (21.5%) and SUV Medium (20.2%). 

Light Passenger Vehicles (including SUVs) 

Registrations 

Light passenger vehicle registrations in July totaled 6,345 units, a 21.2% decrease from July 2022's  8,049 units and a 36.4% drop from 2021. The figures for July 2023 were significantly impacted by changes to the Clean Car Discount policy. Year-to-date, light passenger vehicle sales are down 28.9%  compared to 2023 and 27.8% lower than 2022. 

Light passenger by buyer type: Top 3 

1. Business 2,981 units and 47.0% share 

2. Private Buyer 2,872 units and 45.3% share 

3. Rental 272 units and 4.3% share 

Top selling light passenger models: Top 3 

1. Toyota RAV4, 394 units and 6.2% share 

2. Kia Seltos, 342 units and 5.4% share 

3. Mitsubishi ASX, 311 units and 4.9% share 

Segmentation – what consumers are buying: Top 3 

1. SUV compact 2,028 units (32% share of Light Passenger)  

2. SUV medium 1,905 units (30% share of Light Passenger)  

3. SUV Large 695 units (11% share of Light Passenger)

The small to medium segments comprised 81.6% of Light passenger. Light Passenger Motive Power Insights

Light Passenger by Motive Power

Top-selling models (by motive power) 

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs):

The top five models in July were the BYD Atto 3 (59 units), Tesla Model Y (56 units), VW ID.4 (43 units), Tesla Model 3 (42 units), and Kia EV9 (31 units). 

Plug in Hybrid Vehicle (PHEVs):

The top five models in July were the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (44 units), followed by the Mitsubishi  Outlander (28 units), BYD Sealion 6 (20 units), and BMW X5 and Hyundai Tucson (11 each). 

Hybrid Vehicle (HEVs):

The top five models in July were the Toyota RAV4 (394 units), followed by the Suzuki Swift (186  units), Toyota Corolla (130 units), Toyota Highlander (118 units) and Toyota C-HR (86 units). 

Light Commercial Vehicles 

Registrations 

Light commercial registrations of 2,505 were over double that of July 2023 (up 1,309 units) and just  24 units higher than July 2022 (2,481 units). Year-to-date, registrations are 2% lower (430 units) than  in the same period in 2023.  

Light commercial by buyer type: Top 3 

1. Business 1,990 units and 79.4% share 

2. Private 446 units and 17.8% share 

3. Rental 69 units and 2.8% share  

Top selling light commercial models: Top 3 

1. Ford Ranger, 757 units and 30.2% share  

2. Toyota Hilux, 589 units and 23.5% share 

3. Mitsubishi Triton, 270 units and 10.8% share 

Segmentation – what consumers are buying: Top 3 

1. Pick-up/Chassis Cab 4x4 1,612 units (66.4% share of Light Commercial)  

2. Pick-up/Chassis Cab 4x2 494 units (19.7% share of Light Commercial)  

3. Vans 308 units (12.3% share of Light Commercial)  

Motive Power

Light Commercial BEVs: 10 units in July, 141 units year-to-date. 

Heavy Commercial Vehicles 

Registrations

The 580 heavy commercial registrations are 12% lower than in July 2023 (79 units) and just 1.6% higher than in July 2022 (9 units). Year-to-date, registrations are 4.9% higher (211 units) than in the  same period in 2023 and 16.3% higher (630 units) than in the same period in 2022. 

Heavy commercial by buyer type: Top 3 

1. Business 481 units and 82.9% share 

2. Private 48 units and 8.3% share 

3. Rental 28 units and 4.8% share  

Heavy commercial segment leaders: Top 3 

1. Isuzu Trucks, 68 units and 11.7% share 

2. Fuso 64 units and 11% share  

3. Hino, 62 units and 10.7% share 

Heavy commercial models retail share: Top 3 

1. Ford Transit, 43 units and 7.4% share 

2. Isuzu Trucks F Series, 31 units and 5.3% share  

3. Isuzu Trucks N Series, 31 units and 5.3% share 

Motive Power 

Heavy Commercial BEVs: 14 units in July, 159 units year-to-date.

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