Vehicle sales: double-digit growth in (almost) every sector

Media Release 13 January 2015

2014 vehicle sales: double-digit growth in (almost) every sector

New Zealand’s 2014 total vehicle sales showed a 21 percent increase over the previous year, with double-digit growth in almost every sector. In 2014, 265,216 new and used imported vehicles were registered, significantly more than the 218,329 vehicles sold for the first time in 2013.

MTA Chief Executive Warwick Quinn noted the growth in every sector of vehicle market, with especially strong results in the new commercial vehicle and used imported passenger vehicle segments.

“The growth this year has been huge, and has been sustained for a period of years now. If they were lined up end to end, the vehicles added to the fleet in 2014 would make a line longer than the driving distance from Kaitaia to Wellington, or Picton to Bluff,” Quinn said.

“We now have the largest number of cars in this country, ever. Our figures indicate there are now 5.7 passenger vehicles for every 10 people.”

The new commercial sector sold 36,716 for 2014, 19 percent more than 2013’s 30,861. This is the largest year on record, and the fifth year of growth. Ford’s Ranger ute won the battle of for the highest-selling light commercial, with 6,342 units. Toyota’s Hilux sold 5,778 units – in second place, after 32 years in the top spot. Holden’s Colorado took third, selling 2,955 units for the year.

Used imported commercial sold 7,943, a 30 percent increase on 2013’s 6,094. With the best year since 2008 and in a second year of growth, 2014 registration numbers were the biggest since 2008, and while in their third year of growth, were still far short of 2014’s record 15,250 units.

New passenger sold 90,632 units, up 10 percent on 2013’s 82,433 – the segment’s best year since 1984, with five years of continuous growth. Toyota’s Corolla dominated the year’s bestseller list, with 6,473 units sold, followed by Holden’s Commodore (3,007 units) and the Suzuki Swift (2,686 units). Notably, Toyota’s Rav4 and Yaris occupied fourth and fifth place, with 2,566 units and 2,557 units sold, respectively.

The used imported passenger segment hit a nine-year-high with 129,925 units sold in 2014, up 31 percent on 2013’s 98,971. Small and light vehicles dominated: Nissan’s Tiida was the largest-selling passenger car, with 7,212 units, followed by Suzuki Swift (6,540 units) and Mazda Axela (5,939 units).

Motorcycle sector also strong

The total for new and used imported road-registered motorcycles for 2014 reached 9,672 units, an 11 percent increase on the previous year’s figure of 8,746. The new motorcycle segment sold 7,520 units, up 7 percent on 2013’s 7,024, with the new sector enjoying the best year for registrations since 2009. The biggest-selling brand for new motorcycles was Suzuki with 1,325 units, followed by Honda (902 units), and Yamaha (598 units). The used motorcycle segment, while smaller, was also up 25 percent for 2014 to 2,152, compared to 2013’s figure of 1,722.

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