A massive 71% uplift in rental-car sales is being credited for a new-vehicle sales market that's actually up 2.1% on August last year.
Rental sales for the month are the highest so far this year, bolstering a market that's still 19% down on the same period year-to-date in 2023. The top rental models for August were the Toyota RAV4 (345), Ford Ranger (129) and Kia Stonic/Toyota Yaris Cross (both 120).
Light passenger registrations overall were 3% down on August 2023 and 38% down on the same month in 2022. Year-to-date, sales are 26% down on 2023. The top models were the Toyota RAV4 (541), Kia Seltos (308) and Mitsubishi ASX (286).
Light commercials are up 24% on August 2023 but still slightly down on 2022, with the top models being the Ford Ranger (826), Toyota Hilux (687) and Mitsubishi Triton (279). Year to date, registrations are similar to 2023: up just 0.3%.
The top hybrids in August were the Toyota RAV4, Toyota Yaris Cross and Suzuki Swift. Most popular plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were the BYD Sealion 6, Mitsubishi Outlander and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross.
The best-selling battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were the Tesla Model Y, Nissan Leaf and MG4.
Hybrids were the most popular electrified vehicles by far in August, with total sales of 2435, followed by BEVs (565) and PHEVs (231).
NZ'S TOP 10 VEHICLES YEAR-TO-DATE
Ford Ranger (7803)
Toyota RAV4 (5137)
Toyota Hilux (5044)
Mitsubishi Triton (3274)
Mitsubishi ASX (2277)
Mitsubishi Outlander (2164)
Kia Seltos (2005)
Suzuki Swift (1950)
Nissan Navara (1409)
Ford Everest (1280)