May 2024 Marks The Fifth Month Of Steep Decline In Light Passenger Registrations, A Hard Hit For The Industry

May saw a relentless dip in new vehicle registrations, perpetuating an ongoing decline. While light commercial sales remained steady and heavy vehicle sales saw an uptick, the light passenger segment continues to be hit hardest by the prevailing economic recession. The distressing trend of falling registrations has persisted for the year's first five months, underscoring the sector’s struggle.

At 10,186 registrations, May 2024 is 23.7% lower than May 2023 (3,168 units) and 23.6% lower than May 2022 (3,151 units). Year-to-date, 2024 is 13.3% lower than 2023 (8,198 units) and 23.8% lower than 2022 (16,703 units).

New Vehicle Industry Key points

• The top three overall market leaders in May 2024 were Toyota, with a 23.3% market share

(2,375 units), Ford, with 14.4% (1,464 units), and Mitsubishi, with 10.8% (1,104 units).

• May registrations breakdown: Light Passenger at 6,369, Light Commercial at 3,154 and Heavy Commercial at 663.

• Total industry by motive power for May: 444 Battery Electric (4.4% share), 177 Plug-In Hybrid (1.7% share), 2,150 Mild Hybrid (21.1% share) and 7,415 ICE vehicles (72.8% share).

• The overall top three segments in May: Pick-Up/Chassis Cab (25.6%), followed by SUV

Medium (20.9%) and SUV Compact (20.5%).

Light Passenger Vehicles (including SUVs)

Registrations

Light passenger vehicles, at 6,369, are a whopping 33.4% lower than in May 2023 (3,197 units) and 39.8% lower than in May 2022 (4,206 units). Year-to-date, light passenger vehicles are down 22.0% (9,654 units) compared to the same period in 2023 and 27.1% (12,710 units) lower than in the same period in 2022.

Light passenger by buyer type: Top 3

1. Private Buyer 2,977 units and 46.7% share

2. Business 2,900 units and 45.5% share

3. Rental 357 units and 5.6% share

Top selling light passenger models: Top 3

1. Toyota RAV4, 761 units and 11.9% share

2. Mitsubishi ASX, 328 units and 5.2% share

3. Suzuki Swift, 246 units and 3.9% share

Segmentation – what consumers are buying: Top 3 1. SUV medium 2,132 units (33.5% share of Light Passenger) 2. SUV compact 2,089 units (32.8% share of Light Passenger) 3. SUV Large 763 units (12.0% share of Light Passenger)

The small to medium segments comprised 81.7% of Light passenger.

Top-selling models (by motive power)

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs):

The top five models in May: Tesla Model Y (44 units), followed by Tesla Model 3 (32 units), Hyundai IONIQ 5 (24 units), Volvo EX30 (24 units) and BYD Atto 3 (21 units).

Plug in Hybrid Vehicle (PHEVs):

The top five models in May: Mitsubishi Outlander (23 units) followed by BYD Sealion (19 Units), Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (17 units), BMW X5 (10) and Porsche Cayenne (10 units).

Mild Hybrid Vehicle (HEVs):

The top five models in May: Toyota RAV4 (760 units), followed by Toyota Highlander (121 units), Suzuki Swift (93 units), Toyota Corolla (93 units) and Toyota Corolla Cross (83 units).

Light Commercial Vehicles

Registrations

Light commercial registrations of 3,154 are comparable to May 2023, 22 units lower than May 2022 (3,176 units). Year-to-date, registrations are 7.3% higher (1,084 units) than in the same period in 2023.

Light commercial by buyer type: Top 3

1. Business 2,358 units and 74.8% share

2. Private 584 units and 18.5% share

3. Rental 212 units and 6.7% share

Top selling light commercial models: Top 3

1. Ford Ranger, 1067 units and 33.8% share

2. Toyota Hilux, 709 units and 22.5% share

3. Mitsubishi Triton, 444 units and 14.1% share

Segmentation – what consumers are buying: Top 3

1. Pick-up/Chassis Cab 4x4 2,033 units (64.5% share of Light Commercial)

2. Pick-up/Chassis Cab 4x2 569 units (18.0% share of Light Commercial)

3. Vans 383 units (12.1% share of Light Commercial)

Motive Power

Light Commercial BEVs: 58 units in May, 123 units year-to-date.

Heavy Commercial Vehicles

Registrations

The 663 heavy commercial registrations are 8.3% higher than in May 2023 (51 units) and 12.8% higher than in May 2022 (75 units). Year-to-date, registrations are 12.6% higher (372 units) than in the same period in 2023 and 22.0% higher (601 units) than in the same period in 2022.

Heavy commercial by buyer type: Top 3

1. Business 535 units and 80.7% share

2. Private 70 units and 10.6% share

3. Government 37 units and 5.6% share

Heavy commercial segment leaders: Top 3

1. Fuso, 96 units and 14.5% share

2. Isuzu Trucks, 85 units and 12.8% share

3. Ford, 65 units and 9.8% share

Heavy commercial models retail share: Top 3

1. Ford Transit, 65 units and 9.8% share

2. LDV Deliver 9, 44 units and 6.6% share

3. Isuzu Trucks F Series, 38 units and 5.7% share

Motive Power

Heavy Commercial BEVs: 26 units in May, 116 units year-to-date.

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