New vehicle sales surge to all-time January record

Media Release
4 February 2008

New vehicle sales surge to all-time January record

January new vehicle sales in New Zealand hit an all-time record – it was the biggest January ever recorded in the local market, with 7543 new cars and 1856 new commercial vehicles finding owners. New car sales were 11% up on January 2007 and new commercial vehicle sales were 9% up.

“What a tremendous start to the year,” said Perry Kerr, CEO of the Motor Industry Association. “Not only was this the best January in the history of our industry, but it came after a particularly strong finish to the previous year.”

The new car industry has clearly shifted up a gear since the nineties, when the effect of used imports was affecting the ability of private buyers in particular to trade up to a new vehicle. “With stable pricing and much more predictable resale value, new vehicle buyers can now buy with confidence, and this is evident as new vehicle sales keep increasing while used import sales trend downwards,” said Mr. Kerr.

Toyota continued to lead the market in January by a wide margin, with Holden holding off Ford for second place. Surprise performers were Mazda in fourth place overall, and Suzuki in fourth place for passenger cars.

Toyota Corolla was the top selling model for the month, over 200 units ahead of Holden Commodore.

[January_2008_sales_tables.xls]

Sheet 1: Top fifteen distributors, full year 2007, month of January 2008, total vehicles, new cars, new commercials.

Sheet 2: Top fifteen sellers by model, full year 2007, month of January 2008, top fifteen rental cars January 2008.

[Registration_data_1975_on.xls]

ENDS

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