Like many things, when it comes to new vehicle sales, New Zealand is firing on all cylinders as the August numbers reveal. In August, 12,677 new registrations were recorded, which for this particular month is the second highest on record with the highest data dating back to 1984 with 13,157 registrations. In 1984, the final number of vehicles registered was 123,247, a number that will likely be exceeded this year if the market continues at the pace it has been for the previous months of this year.
Comparing the new registration statistics to this time last year shows a 7% improvement as we’re currently at 93,381 whereas this time last year the number of registrations was 87,211. When comparing the month of August 2015 to August 2016 the numbers are 11,192 to 12,677 which 13% increase is, putting the market in a great position to beat last year’s previous record of 134,234 registrations.
Break It Down!
When collectively placing the SUV categories (compact, medium, large & luxury) in the same group, these vehicles make up 38% of the total registrations for the month of August. Passenger vehicles made up for 32% of the total share.
“2016 was already a record year to date for new vehicle registrations, and it just got stronger,” said Motor Industry Association Chief Executive Officer David Crawford.
Vehicle Sales by Make
The month of August saw Toyota finish with the majority stake in the market share with 18% followed by 12% from Ford. The battle for the remaining spots in the top 10 are very close as Holden claimed 8%, Mazda 7%, Mitsubishi 6%, Hyundai 6%, Nissan 6%, Kia 4%, Volkswagen 4% and Suzuki at 4%. This top 10 ladder stays the same when we talk about the year to date tally with the exception of Suzuki and Kia being tied at 8th and Volkswagen rounding out the top 10.
Vehicle Sales by Model
It’s the Toyota Corolla leading the top 10 new car models for registrations in August with a total of 535 and the Kia Sportage is the next with 295 registrations. Similar to the vehicle sales by make breakdown, the models are in a close competition. Third on the ladder is the Toyota Yaris with 289, Mazda 3 with 270, Toyota RAV4 had 268, Mazda CX-5 255, Hyundai Tucson 237, Suzuki Swift 222, Holden Captiva and Volkswagen Tiguan with 180 and the Holden Commodore with 172.
Worthy of a mention is the Ford Ranger which was the most successful commercial vehicle with a total of 721 (19% of the total market) new registrations with the Toyota Hilux coming second at 486 (13% of the total market).
The next few months will be interesting to watch as the 2016 year is on a mission to be the highest on record, who knows what the September results will bring.
