SUVs and light commercials continued to dominate the New Zealand new vehicle market last month, with the Ford Ranger retaining its top spot as the bestselling commercial model.
The Ranger ute scored 17% of the commercial market (699 units) followed by the Toyota Hilux also with 17% share (686 units). The Mitsubishi Triton was in third place with 12% market share (505 units).
There were 818 Ford light commercial and SUVs registered during February, just one more than the number of Toyotas, according to the Motor Industry Association new vehicle sales figures.
The best-selling passenger and SUV model during February was the Mazda CX-5. Picture/Supplied
The association chief executive David Crawford said new vehicle sales were up slightly in February compared with February 2018.
"There were 11,699 vehicles registered in the month of February up 1.5% (168 units) on February 2018," he said.
"It was still the second strongest February on record.”
The total registrations of passenger and SUVs for February were up 2.2% (165 units) on 2018 volumes, and commercial vehicles were level, up by just 3 units (0.1%) compared to February last year.
Toyota remained the overall market leader with 14% market share (1,617 units), followed by Ford with 11% (1,234 units) and Mitsubishi with 9% market share (1,053 units).
Toyota was also the market leader for passenger and SUV registrations during February with 11% market share (800 units) closely followed by Mazda with 10% (758 units) and then by Suzuki with 8% market share (581 units).
The Toyota Hilux ute was the second-best-selling commercial vehicle during February.
The top selling passenger and SUV models for the month were the Mazda CX-5 (292 units) followed by the Kia Sportage (273 units) and the Suzuki Swift (246 units).
In the commercial sector, Ford retained the market lead with 20%, followed by Toyota also with 20% and just one unit behind Ford, and Mitsubishi third with 12% market share.
David Crawford said vehicle segmentation for February continued recent trends with SUV’s and light commericals dominating the market. The top two segments for the month were SUV medium vehicles with 17% share followed by the Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x4 segment with 16% market share and the SUV Compact in third with 15% market share.
“The outturn for February 2019 was pleasing, being the second strongest February on record behind 2017. It indicates the market, while not growing, is steady as she goes” he said.