Surprises have been few and far between in the 2019 new vehicle registration charts, and that's continued for July.
The year continues to be down on last year's historic figures. And up the top, the Ford Ranger continues to lead the Toyota Hilux in the tiff to be New Zealand's best-selling vehicle.
However, there has been one surprise in the last month. A hatchback has broken into the top three in the form of the Toyota Corolla, which pushed the Mitsubishi Triton down to fourth.
Motor Industry Association Chief Executive David Crawford has described 2019 as "a bumpy ride", and down compared to the booming numbers of 2018. This is reflected in seven-month year-to-date sales being down 5.2 per cent over last year, with July specifically being down 3.5 per cent.
Overall, 11,897 new vehicles were registered last month. Toyota remains the market leader with 18 per cent market share (2185 units) over Ford (9 per cent, 1040 units), and Mitsubishi in third (8 per cent, 950 units).
The Corolla's rise to the podium can be partially attributed to a big month of rental vehicle registrations. Out of its square 500 July registrations, 237 were vehicles from the rental fleet.
Other notable statistics include the ongoing slide of large-car sales. The Holden Commodore is once again the only vehicle from the segment to appear top 15 new car/SUV registration data, sitting 11th with 136 units for the month of July.
Year-to-date, 69 per cent of total market sales have been made up of utes and SUVs, with passenger cars making up just 24 per cent.
Overall top 10 most registered vehicles for July, 2019
1. Ford Ranger — 657 units
2. Toyota Hilux — 534 units
3. Toyota Corolla — 500 units
4. Mitsubishi Triton — 451 units
5. Toyota RAV4 — 442 units
6. Holden Colorado — 380 units
7. Kia Sportage — 302 units
8. Mazda CX-5 — 288 units
9. Suzuki Swift — 269 units
10. Nissan Navara — 266 units