The Motor Industry Association (MIA) is crediting the Government's "Investment Boost" (announced as part of the 2025 Budget) for a bounceback in new-vehicle sales in June.
The Boost is a new tax incentive allowing businesses to deduct 20% of the cost of new assets in the year they are purchased or first used, in addition to normal depreciation.
A total of 11,862 new vehicles were registered in June, making it the second-best month of 2025 so far. The figure represents an increase of 26% on June 2024 and an "encouraging" increase on the 10,251 from May, says the MIA.
CEO Aimee Wiley says the link between the June increase and the Investment Boost cannot be discounted as a factor in the latest figures: “The June quarter ANZ Business Investment Survey showed central government policy as a key driver for firms planning to invest, and this likely refers to the Investment Boost announced in the May Budget.
“And a MYOB survey of more than 500 small and medium sized businesses in May put passenger vehicles including cars, vans and utes at the top of the list of new assets to purchase. Further analysis of the June numbers shows the lift has come from rental, business and private buyers alike.”
Toyota’s RAV4 continued its lead in the market with 781 registrations for June, ahead of the Mitsubishi ASX with 482 sales and the Kia Seltos with 444 sales respectively. Tesla had a good month in June with a total of 407 sales of its Model Y, taking fourth place for passenger vehicles.
Light commercial vehicle sales also performed strongly with 3,204 registrations. June was the bestmonth so far this year, and the single best month since April 2024.
The Ford Ranger continued its lead in light commercials with 948 registrations, with the Toyota Hilux in second place with 853. The month saw a notable performance by the BYD Shark 6, taking third place with 413 sales.
The MIA also says June was an "exceptional" month for battery electric vehicles, notching up 1073 registrations: their best sales figures since the end of the Clean Car Discount in December 2023. Plug-in hybrids and hybrids also had a good month with 912 and 3152 registrations respectively.
NZ'S TOP 10 NEW VEHICLES YEAR-TO-DATE
Toyota RAV4 (4584)
Ford Ranger (4388)
Toyota Hilux (4096)
Mitsubishi ASX (2199)
Kia Seltos (1878)
Mitsubishi Outlander (1596)
Ford Everest (1068)
Mitsubishi Triton (1667)
Nissan Navara (1413)
BYD Shark (1120)