New Vehicle Sales Down in April 2011

Media Release

5 May 2011

New Vehicle Sales Down in April 2011

Easter, school holidays and new vehicle supply constraints all contributed to a slow-down in new passenger car sales for the month of April.

Just released NZTA registration data shows the new vehicle market was down 1% on the corresponding month last year, with passenger cars down 7.1%, however commercial vehicles were up 22.6%. Year to date sales are still ahead of the corresponding period 2010 by 11% for the overall market.

Mr Kerr, Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Industry Association, said “some of the market volatility is driven by new vehicle supply constraints as a result of the Great Tohoku Kanto Earthquake. The supply situation is changing daily as the Japanese motor industry takes positive action to address the component shortages which are affecting production both in Japan and in other markets. The impact of this on each MIA member will vary and within the short term (the next six months) some model lines and/or individual vehicles may be unavailable.” Mr Kerr said he had full confidence in the Japanese industry to overcome all set-backs relatively quickly.

Turning to the market Toyota retained top spot with 561 passenger car registrations giving it 13.1% market share, followed by Ford (451) and Hyundai (433). With April’s totals added to the first three months Hyundai moved into second place for total passenger car registrations. In the commercial segment Toyota was again market leader with 333 registrations followed by Ford (246) with Mitsubishi (135) edging out Nissan for third spot.

The Suzuki Swift was the top selling model for the month with 248 registrations, followed by the Toyota Hilux (210) and the Ford Ranger (207). The Toyota Corolla took fourth place with 149 registrations. Year to date the Toyota Corolla remains the top selling model (1,623) followed by the Toyota Hilux (1,277) with the Suzuki Swift in third place (1,171).

ENDS.

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