June 2023 marked the biggest month on record for New Zealand new-vehicle sales, as buyers rushed to beat the introduction of the tougher Clean Car Discount fee structure introduced on July 1.
June registrations reached 23,560, 95.5 per cent higher than June 2022 and 2556 units higher than the previous biggest month, March 2022 (21,004).
"What these record months have in common, is clean car policy change," says Motor Industry Association (MIA) chief executive Aimee Wiley. "In March 2022, people rushed to register vehicles to avoid the introduction of Clean Car Discount fees and we can see this repeated in June 2023, to avoid increasing fees or reducing rebates from 1 July onwards.
Of the 23,560 June registrations, passenger vehicles accounted for 17,299 and commercial vehicles 6,261.
The passenger figure is the highest month ever, 97.5 per cent higher than the monthly average year to date, 80.9 per cent higher than June 2022 and 45.7 per cent higher than the prior record month for passenger sales (September 2021, 11,874).
On a year-to-date basis, passenger vehicles are up 8.3 per cent.
Commercial vehicle registrations are the second biggest month ever: 76.2 per cent higher than the average monthly registrations year to date and up 151.9 per cent compared to June 2022.
Although a standout month for the commercial segment, June 2023 falls well short of the prior record month of March 2022 (9,822). On a total year-to-date basis, commercial vehicles are still down 6.5 per cent due the impact of the Clean Car Discount fees on light commercial vehicles.
A ute still occupied the top sales spot for the month: the Toyota Hilux (1703), followed by the Toyota RAV4 (1496) and Mitsubishi Triton (1011). The Ford Ranger took a break from its podium placing: with 975 registrations, it was the fourth best-seller. The Tesla Model Y (765) rounded out the top five and was of course also the top EV for the month.
NZ'S BEST SELLING NEW VEHICLES YEAR-TO-DATE
1. Ford Ranger (5869)
2. Toyota Hilux (5580)
3. Toyota RAV4 (4027)
4. Suzuki Swift (2606)
5. Mitsubishi Triton (2471)
6. MG ZS (2266)
7. Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (2107)
8. Tesla Model Y (1957)
9. Mitsubishi Outlander (1856)
10. BYD Atto 3 (1836)