There was much ado late last year about Toyota New Zealand spoiling the Ford Ranger’s potential 10th year on top of the new-vehicle sales charts, with a huge run of registrations for the RAV4. In the end, it didn’t happen: Ranger still celebrated a decade at number one with 11,748 sales for 2024, (just) ahead of the RAV4 at 10,533.
Toyota also claimed the third spot on the podium for 2024, with the Hilux (7296).
Strong numbers for those individual vehicles, but the overall market of 128,828 was still down 13.5% on 2023 and 21.8% on 2022. However, December registrations were up 5.6% on the same month last year, with the Motor Industry Association (MIA) saying that indicates “partial recovery from recent market volatility”.
Conventional ICE vehicles (petrol/diesel) accounted for the majority of sales at 65% share, followed by hybrid at 27%. Pure-electric accounted for 5%, with plug-in hybrid at 3%.
Medium SUVs are still the most popular vehicle type, followed by compact SUVs and utes.
The Toyota RAV4, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and Mitsubishi ASX were the top three light passenger vehicle for the year, while the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi Triton topped the light-commercial charts.
The RAV4, Toyota Corolla and Honda ZR-V were the top hybrids; the Eclipse Cross, BYD Sealion 6 and Mitsubishi Outlander were the best-selling plug-in hybrids, while the Tesla Model Y, Model 3 and BMW X1 were the top pure-electric vehicles.
What’s coming for 2025?
While the MIA acknowledges there is hope in the rise in December registrations, it also says there is a “pressing need” for stability in Government policy.
"Looking ahead, the industry's primary challenge will be navigating the stricter Clean Car Standard targets introduced for importers from 1 January 2025, while simultaneously supporting the transition to lower-emission vehicles,” says Aimee Wiley, chief executive of the MIA. “Achieving this balance is essential to avoid significant vehicle price inflation in 2025 and beyond."
Wiley emphasises that consumer preferences remain clear, with SUVs and light commercial vehicles continuing to dominate NZ’s market. She also highlighted encouraging trends in hybrid vehicle demand across all segments in 2024, but cautioned that the stricter CO2 targets present significant challenges for importers.
"Consumer demand simply does not align with the stringent CO2 targets for light passenger vehicles in 2025. Importers face a delicate balancing act to meet these targets and avoid penalties, which could lead to consumer vehicle price inflation unless genuine demand for EVs rebounds significantly in 2025. The industry must work collaboratively to address these challenges while ensuring vehicles remain affordable and accessible for NZers".
NZ’S TOP 10 VEHICLES FOR 2024
Ford Ranger 11,748
Toyota RAV4 10,533
Toyota Hilux 7296
Mitsubishi Triton 4231
Mistubishi ASX 3763
Mitsubishi Outlander 3248
Kia Seltos 3140
Suzuki Swift 2740
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 2394
Ford Everest 2341