August New Vehicle Registrations Boosted By Uplift In Rental Sales

August registrations are up by 2.1% (202 units) on the same month last year, attributable to a surge in rental sales volumes up 71.2% or 612 units compared to the same month last year. August sales to rental companies represents the highest rental volumes sold so far this year. On a year-to-date basis, 2024 registrations are down 18.7% or 18,846 units compared to the same period in 2023.

Average monthly Light Commercial vehicle registrations remain stable at 2,967 YTD, marginally above the 2,959 monthly units recorded in 2023. Heavy Commercial vehicle registrations continue to grow slightly, reaching an average monthly 644 YTD units, up from 629 average monthly units in 2023 and 565 in 2022.

New Industry Insights

Light Passenger Vehicles (including SUVs)

Registrations

Light passenger vehicle registrations in August totaled 6,765 units, a 3.0% decrease compared to August 2023 and a 38.2% drop from August 2022. Year-to-date, sales are down 26.4% compared to 2023 (19,094 units) and 29.3% lower than 2022 (22,085 units).

Light passenger by buyer type: Top 3

1. Business 2,712 units and 40.1% share
2. Private Buyer 2,670 units and 39.5% share
3. Rental 1,209 units and 17.9% share

Top selling light passenger models: Top 3

1. Toyota RAV4, 541 units and 8.0% share
2. Kia Seltos, 308 units and 4.6% share
3. Mitsubishi ASX, 286 units and 4.2% share

Segmentation – what consumers are buying: Top 3

1. SUV compact 2,300 units (34% share of Light Passenger)
2. SUV medium 2,121 units (31.4% share of Light Passenger)
3. SUV Large 775 units (11.5% share of Light Passenger)

The small to medium segments comprised 82.9% of Light passenger.

Light Passenger Motive Power Insights

Top-selling models (by motive power)

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs):

The top five models in August were the Tesla Model Y (116 units), Nissan Leaf (59 units), MG 4 (39 units), BYD Atto 3 (36 units), and BYD Dolphin (28 units).

Plug in Hybrid Vehicle (PHEVs):

The top five models in August were the BYD Sealion 6 (42 units), followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (34 units), Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (18 units), Hyundai Tucson (17 units) and Ford Escape (11 units).

Hybrid Vehicle (HEVs):

The top five models in August were the Toyota RAV4 (541 units), followed by Toyota Yaris Cross (190 units), Suzuki Swift (188 units), Toyota Yaris (136 units) and Honda HR-V (126 units).

Light Commercial Vehicles

Registrations

Light commercial registrations of 2,576 were up 23.7% (493 units) on August 2023 but down 526 units compared to August 2022 (3,102 units). Year-to-date, registrations are up 0.3% (63 units) than in the same period in 2023.

Light commercial by buyer type: Top 3

1. Business 1,950 units and 75.7% share
2. Private 418 units and 16.2% share
3. Rental 208 units and 8.1% share

Top selling light commercial models: Top 3

1. Ford Ranger, 826 units and 32.1% share
2. Toyota Hilux, 687 units and 26.7% share
3. Mitsubishi Triton, 279 units and 10.8% share

Segmentation – what consumers are buying: Top 3

1. Pick-up/Chassis Cab 4x4 1,763 units (68.4% share of Light Commercial)
2. Pick-up/Chassis Cab 4x2 500 units (19.4% share of Light Commercial)
3. Vans 264 units (10.2% share of Light Commercial)

Motive Power

Light Commercial BEVs: 2 units in August, 18 units year-to-date.

Heavy Commercial Vehicles

Registrations

The 649 heavy commercial registrations are 12%.7 lower than in August 2023 (down 94 units) and just 0.3% higher than in August 2022 (2 units). Year-to-date, registrations are 2.3% higher (117 units) than in the same period in 2023 and 14.0% higher (632 units) than in the same period in 2022.

Heavy commercial by buyer type: Top 3

1. Business 529 units and 81.5% share
2. Rental 54 units and 8.3% share
3. Private 48 units and 7.4% share

Heavy commercial brand retail share: Top 3

1. Fuso, 84 units and 12.9% share
2. Isuzu Trucks, 76 units and 11.7% share
3. Mercedes-Benz, 67 units and 10.3% share

Heavy commercial models retail share: Top 3

1. Ford Transit, 54 units and 8.3% share
2. Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, 54 units and 8.3% share
3. Isuzu Trucks N Series, 42 units and 6.5% share

Motive Power

Heavy Commercial BEVs: 8 units in August, 24 units year-to-date.

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