New vehicle registrations in the first quarter of 2017 are up 15 per cent on the previous year as the new car market continues to operate at unprecedented levels, following on from the record numbers set throughout last year.
David Crawford, Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Industry Association said the new vehicle sector continues to surpass expectations.
“Year to date the new vehicle sector is 15% (5161 units) ahead of this time last year with 39,477 vehicles registered compared to 34,316 vehicles to the end of March 2016.
“Monthly registrations of 13,869 vehicles was also the strongest month of March on record, up 14.5 per cent (1759 units) on March 2016.”
March numbers were boosted by the continuing popularity of utes and SUVs among New Zealanders.
Commercial vehicle registrations of 4,639 units were up 18.4 per cent (720 units) on March 2016. This is the single largest month for commercial vehicle registrations since records began back in 1981.
The combined passenger and SUV segment recorded 9,230 units in March, up 12.7 per cent (1039 units) on March 2016.
Buyers preference for new utes was clearly illustrated by the top-selling models in March. The Ford Ranger is still New Zealand’s favourite vehicle with 810 units ahead of the Toyota Hilux on 740 units.
The Toyota Corolla (396 units) was the sole passenger vehicle among commercial vehicles and SUVs in the top-10, finishing in third.
The most popular vehicle segment in March was the medium SUV category which accounted for 15 per cent of the market ahead of 4x4 utes (13 per cent), Large SUV (12 per cent), compact SUV (11 per cent) and small car (11 per cent). Large cars made up only 2 per cent of the market, less then vans with 5 per cent.
In total, combined SUV segments accounted for 37.6 per cent of the market in March, while combined passenger car segments were 27.1 per cent of registrations.
Toyota was the top-selling brand in March with 17 per cent (2,316 units) of the total market, followed by Ford on 11 per cent (1522 units) and Holden on 8 per cent (1104 units)
Mercedes-Benz was the top-selling luxury marque in March with 253 registrations, BMW followed with 196 registrations.
March Top-10
1) Ford Ranger, 810
2) Toyota Hilux, 740
3) Toyota Corolla, 396
4) Holden Colorado, 380
5) Mitsubishi Triton, 365
6) Kia Sportage, 349
7) Toyota Hiace, 336
8) Nissan Navara, 290
9) Mitsubishi Outlander, 287
10) Toyota Rav4, 261