Strong vehicle sales outpacing other economic indicators

Media Release 6 November 2013

Strong vehicle sales outpacing other economic indicators

Motor Trade Association (MTA) says New Zealanders continue to keep vehicle ownership close to their hearts, with October sales up across all segments of the industry. The markets for New Zealand new and used imported passenger cars, commercial vehicles and on-road motorcycles were all up appreciably in October compared to the same month last year.

MTA spokesperson Ian Stronach says the growth in the market is now well established. “These sorts of results are expected, but what continues to surprise us is the pace and extent of the growth; it’s now across all sectors and is outpacing virtually every other major economic indicator at the moment, and there’s no sign yet of any slowdown.”

Sales of 8,545 used import cars were up 1,678 units (24 percent) compared to October 2012. For the year to date, used imported car sales are up by 16,768 units (25 percent), and are headed for their best year since 2007.

The used import car market continues to provide a sales profile markedly different from its New Zealand new counterpart: the most popular individual model was Nissan Tiida with sales of 420 units, followed by Mazda Axela with sales of 416 units and the Suzuki Swift, which managed sales of 405 units.

Steadily increasing availability of models that qualify for importation into New Zealand saw used import commercial vehicles continuing their long running revival during October. Sales of 628 units were 309 units (97 percent) ahead of October 2012. Year to date, used import commercial sales are up 2,057 units (72 percent) and headed for their strongest result since 2008.

New car sales of 7,962 units were up 626 units (9 percent) compared to October 2012. For the year to date, new car sales are now ahead of 2012 by 4,324 units (7 percent) and are on target for the best year in almost 15 years.

Perennial favourite Toyota Corolla, was again the top selling new car model for the month with sales of 963 units, followed some way back by Holden Commodore with 357 units sold. Toyota Yaris rounded out the top three with sales of 325 units.

Sales of new commercial vehicles remain at exceptional levels. The 2,734 units sold were 682 units (33 percent) up over October 2012. For the year to date, new commercial vehicle sales are up a hefty 5,343 units (26 percent) and look set to reach the 30,000 mark for the first time since 1982.

The top selling new commercial model, and New Zealand’s most popular model overall, was again the Ford Ranger with sales of 478 units, followed by Toyota Hilux with sales of 396 units and Holden Colorado with sales of 233 units.

Commercial vehicles continue to lead the way, showing that the economic recovery is continuing. “Business vehicles are never purchased on a whim, they’re a sizeable investment, so there is obviously ongoing confidence that things will only get stronger in the coming months,” Stronach says.

On-road motorcycles maintained their year long improvement. October sales of 631 units were 60 units (11 percent) ahead of October 2012. For the year to date, sales are now ahead of last year by 978 units (21 percent) and look likely to post their best result in four years. Holding on to the top spot was Suzuki with sales of 95 units (15 percent market share), followed by Harley Davidson with sales of 78 units (12 percent share) and Honda which secured sales of 67 units (11 percent share).

131106_Motorcycle_registrations.pdf
131106_New_commercial_registrations.pdf
131106_New_passenger_registrations.pdf
131106_Used_commercial_registrations.pdf
131106_Used_import_passenger_registrations.pdf

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