There's good news and bad news in the New Zealand new-vehicle sales figures for July. The bad news is that the marker is down nearly 20 per cent on the same period last year, Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford putting it down to "rising costs of living, high fuel prices, continued vehicle supply constraints and a weakening NZ economy".
However, some cheer for Toyota NZ as a familiar face returns to the top of the sales charts. The Hilux is now the top-selling model overall year-to-date (YTD), thanks in part to a lull in Ford Ranger sales as it went though a full model change in July.
The Mitsubishi Outlander is the second most-popular model for 2022 so far, followed by the Ranger.
Toyota also leads in overall market share YTD with 17 per cent, but followed very closely by Mitsubishi with 16 per cent and then Ford with 8 per cent. Remove commercial vehicles (which includes utes) from the equation and Mitsubishi actually leads Toyota for passenger/SUV share, with 16 per cent versus 14 per cent.
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Toyota and Mitsubishi each have two models in the top 10 sellers list: Hilux/RAV4 for the former, and Outlander/Eclipse Cross for the latter.
Medium SUV (the likes of Outlander and RAV4) remains the most popular vehicle segment YTD (22 per cent), followed by SUV Compact (20 per cent) and Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x4 (16 per cent).
Six of the top 10 models YTD include electrified powertrain options: Outlander, RAV4, Suzuki Swift, Eclipse Cross, MG ZS and Hyundai Kona. But for July specifically, the top battery electric vehicle (BEV) was the Peugeot e-208, followed by Polestar 2 and Kia EV6. The most popular plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) was the Mitsubishi Outlander, ahead of the Eclipse Cross and Hyundai Ionig. The top hybrids (non plug-in) for July were all Toyotas: RAV4, Highlander and Yaris.
TOP 10 NZ VEHICLES YEAR TO DATE
Toyota Hilux 5739
Mitsubishi Outlander 5597
Ford Ranger 5475
Mitsubishi Triton 4640
Toyota RAV4 3529
Suzuki Swift 2105
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 2101
Kia Sportage 1910
MG ZS 1780
Hyundai Kona 1709