The two titans of New Zealand’s new car sector were separated by a single unit in July as Motor Industry Association (MIA) data confirmed last month was a continuation of a record 2017 for the industry.
The Ford Ranger (655 units) held its place atop the outright model standings with the Toyota Hilux (654 units) nipping at its heels a single unit behind by the end of July.
Behind the front two contenders is another tight battle for third between the Mitsubishi Triton (342 units) and Holden Colorado (331 units).
New vehicle registrations of 11,631 units for the month of July were up 0.5 per cent (61 units) on the same time last year, and year to date the sector is 12.6 per cent (10,033 units) ahead of the ahead of last year. So far this year 90,737 new cars have been registered on our roads, compared to 80,704 at the end of July 2016.
“Following the all-time record month of June, the July results were a little more modest but still consistent with the long-term trend of strong monthly sales,” said David Crawford, Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Industry Association.
Passenger and SUV registrations (7605 units) were down one per cent (80 units) on July 2016, however commercial registrations (4026 units) kept the overall market trend positive for 2017, up 4.3 per cent over July 2016.
Toyota remains the overall market leader with 16 per cent market share (1,820 units), followed by Ford on 10 per cent (1190 units) and Mazda on nine per cent (1017 units).
Toyota also remain in control of the passenger and SUV segments with 13 per cent market share (975 units), followed by Mazda on 11 per cent (811 units) and Mitsubishi with eight per cent (592 units).
The top-five selling passenger and SUV models for July were the Kia Sportage (330 units), Mazda CX-5 (309 units), Mitsubishi Outlander (279 units), Toyota Corolla (265 units) and RAV4 (258 units).
Accordingly, medium SUVs were the most popular segment in July accounting for 19 per cent (2191 units) of registrations, followed by 4X4 pick ups with 15 per cent (1731 units) and compact SUVs with 10 per cent (1211 units).
The top three premium brands finished line astern in July lead by Audi (169 units), BMW (168 units) and Mercedes-Benz (167 units). All three premium brands accounted for two per cent of passenger registrations.
“Continued strong net immigration, robust New Zealand dollar and a sturdy local economy remain the key drivers to healthy new vehicle registrations,” said Crawford, a view that’s mirrored by market leader Toyota New Zealand.
At the beginning of 2017, Toyota estimated a total of new vehicle sales of 155,000 but only a few months into the year it changed that figure to 165,000.
In the past, an election year has seen a dip in new vehicle sales, but industry sources told Driven that with the economy strong they don’t expect to see that happen.
-Driven