Motor Industry Association (MIA) chief executive Aimee Wiley says that new vehicle registrations are beginning to show signs of improvement, but "remain soft compared to prior years".
The October result of 12,944 units is the strongest month since the July Clean Car Discount rate changes. But registrations for the month remain 12.2 per cent lower than October 2022 and 7.7 per cent lower than October 2021.
On a year-to-date basis, 2023 is 9.1 per cent lower than 2022 and 8.8 per cent lower than 2021 (12,062 units).
The top three models for the month were Toyota RAV4 (1103), Ford Ranger (794) and Toyota Hilux (679).
The new MG4 topped battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales at 357, followed by BYD Atto 3 (246) and a surprising charge for an old favourite, the Nissan Leaf (165).
Top plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) were Mitsubishi Outlander (235), Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (195) and Kia Sorento (165), while the top three hybrid electrified vehicles (HEVs) were all Toyotas: RAV4 (416), Corolla Cross (368) and Yaris Cross (319).
Conventional combustion-engine models still outnumbered electrified, but inly just: 54.3 per cent of the overall market.
The most popular segments were SUV Medium (29.5 per cent share), SUV Compact (20.1 per cent) and 4x4 Pickup/Chassis Cab (11.8 per cent).
NZ’S TOP 10 NEW VEHICLES YEAR-TO-DATE
Ford Ranger (8627)
Toyota Hilux (7529)
Toyota RAV4 (6900)
Suzuki Swift (3353)
Mitsubishi Outlander (3145)
Tesla Model Y (3034)
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (2997)
Mitsubishi Triton (2986)
MG ZS (2819)
BYD Atto 3 (2405)