Following recent floods and the disruption caused by cyclone Gabrielle, New Zealand new-vehicle February 2023 registrations of 9541 were a massive 23.7 per cent down on February 2022. It was the lowest February sales month since 2014.
"The recent weather events on the back of softening economy were a double whammy for the new vehicle sector in the month of February," says Motor Industry Association (MIA) chief executive David Crawford. "While we expect demand for new vehicles in coming months to increase to replace those written off by recent weather events, high inflation combined with logistical delays due to road infrastructure creates a degree of uncertainty in the market."
One surprise amid the February turmoil was Suzuki overtaking Toyota to be the top passenger/SUV brand for the month. It claimed 12 per cent market share (767 registrations), just ahead of Toyota (also 12 per cent, 744) and Hyundai (9 per cent, 562). The Suzuki Swift is also now the top-selling passenger car year-to-date.
The top selling passenger/SUV models for the month were the Suzuki Swift (487) followed by the MG ZS (234) and Hyundai Kona (217).
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However, in the overall market (including commercials) the familiar pecking order remains. Ford Ranger was number one overall with 859 registrations, followed by Toyota Hilux (849). The Swift was third overall, behind the two trucks.
Toyota retained the overall market lead for the month of February with 18 per cent market share (1688 units), followed by Ford with 12 per cent (1187) and Suzuki with 8 per cent (768).
The MIA says sales of BEVs are softer than in the last quarter of 2022, but "registrations of non-plug-in hybrids remains strong". There were 773 BEVs, 354 PHEVs and 1237 hybrid vehicles sold in February.
The top BEVs were the BYD Atto 3, MG ZS EV and Tesla Model Y. The top PHEVs were Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, Kia Sorento and Ford Escape. The most popular HEVs were Suzuki Swift, Honda Jazz and Toyota RAV4.
NZ'S TOP-10 SELLING VEHICLES YEAR-TO-DATE FEBRUARY
Ford Ranger (1655)
Toyota Hilux (1649)
Suzuki Swift (813)
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (636)
Toyota RAV4 (587)
MG ZS (545)
Mitsubishi Triton (541)
Mitsubishi Outlander (493)
Kia Stonic (423)
Kia Niro (398)