At first glance, a stink bug infestation that caused car-carrying ships to be turned away from New Zealand’s ports has had little effect on February’s new vehicle registrations results.
Total registrations were only down two per cent compared with last year’s record-setting month. However, passenger and SUV registrations did take a hit - down by almost 10 per cent. Yet February’s net result was boosted by strong ute sales in the commercial sector.
Meanwhile, the first of the cars effected by the fracas were unloaded by the Tokyo Car ship yesterday — approximately 800 cars, with another 300 or so following today.
“February new vehicle registrations of 11,531 vehicles were down (254 units) on February 2017 reflecting a mature and stable market,” said David Crawford, CEO of the Motor Industry Association.
“While the market for new vehicles remains strong, some vehicle segments were constrained by low stocks levels, which will continue into the foreseeable future.”
“Year to date the market is up 3 per cent (751 units) compared to the first two months of 2017.”
“Registrations of 7,415 passenger and SUV vehicles for the month of February were down 8 per cent (637 units) on February 2017. However, registrations of 4,116 commercial vehicles continues to grow strongly being up 10% on February 2017.”
Toyota remains the overall market leader with 17 per cent market share (1,959 units), followed by Ford with 10 per cent (1,183 units) and Holden with 8 per cent market share (968 units).
Toyota was also the market leader for passenger and SUV registrations with 14 per cent market share (1013 units) followed by Mazda with 10 per cent (773 units) and Holden with 8 per cent market share (602 units).
In the commercial sector, Toyota regained the market lead with 23 per cent market share (946 units) followed by Ford with 19 per cent (788 units) and Nissan with 9 per cent market share (384 units).
The top four selling models for the month of February were all utes. The Ford Ranger was back at the top of the bestselling vehicle model table with 735 units. This was followed by the Toyota Hilux with 703 units and the Nissan Navara with 384 units.
With the record number of commercial vehicles sold during the month of February it came as no surprise to see the Pickup/Chassis Cab 4x4 segment as the top segment with 17 per cent of the market for the month. The SUV medium segment accounted for 16 per cent of the market, followed by the SUV compact with 12 per cent market share.
Audi (169 units) was the top selling luxury passenger vehicle in February, followed closely by Mercedes-Benz (166 units) and BMW (144 units).
| Top Selling Vehicle Models - February 2018 | | |
| Marque and Model | Sales | |
| Ford Ranger | 735 | |
| Toyota Hilux | 703 | |
| Nissan Navara | 384 | |
| Mitsubishi Triton | 368 | |
| Holden Colorado | 362 | |
| Suzuki Swift | 307 | |
| Mazda CX-5 | 276 | |
| Toyota Corolla | 258 | |
| Kia Sportage | 223 | |
| Holden Commodore | 216 | |
| Toyota Hiace | 210 | |
| Toyota Rav4 | 205 | |
| Isuzu D-Max | 195 | |
| Mitsubishi Outlander | 170 | |
| Honda CRV | 169 |