As we near this year's halfway mark, new cars are on track to surpass 150,000 registrations this year
Year-to-date, new vehicle registrations are up 14 per cent (7809 units) ahead of 2016's record. At the end of May, registrations totalled 63,244 vehicles, compared to 55,435 a year ago.
May registrations were up again on the previous year, with more than 423 new cars registered every day.
"Registration of 13,132 vehicles for the month of May confirms that growth seen so far this year is sustainable and shows every sign of continuing," said Glynn Tulloch, president of the Motor Industry Association (MIA).
"Low interest rates, strong net immigration, strong New Zealand currency and a robust domestic economy continue to underpin the sales of new vehicles."
Sales are being driven by strong demand for utes and SUVs. In May, pick-up and SUV segments accounted for 65 per cent of total registrations (8533) and made up nine of the top 10 selling models for the month.
In contrast, large cars made up only 2 per cent (230) of the market, behind heavy commercial vehicles (506) and only slightly up on sports cars (185).
The Ford Ranger is still New Zealand's favourite new model with 889 sold in May. Toyota's Hilux followed closely on 819, and Mitsubishi's Triton made it a trio of utes at the top on 501.
The Toyota RAV4 (391), Holden Colorado (335), Mazda CX-5 (330), Kia Sportage (302), Toyota Corolla (281), Hiace (277) and Isuzu D-Max (252) complete the top 10.
Year-to-date figures are also dominated by ute models.
The Ford Ranger is the clear leader on 3800 units, ahead of the Toyota Hilux (3105). There's a tight battle for third with the Holden Colorado, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara sitting in a pack (1734, 1665 and 1417 respectively).
Toyota remains the overall market leader with 2370 units and 18 per cent market share, helped in-part by strong rental sales (423). Ford remains second with 11 per cent share (1495) and Mazda, Holden and Mitsubishi follow, all on 8 per cent market share (1072, 1029 and 1028).
Toyota also leads the passenger and SUV segment with 15 per cent market share (1245). Mazda (886) was second, and Holden (681) third.
Mercedes-Benz was the top luxury brand with 264 units ahead of Audi (231) and BMW (143).
With Fieldays kicking off today and Fielday deals running nationwide all month, the industry is expecting to close out the second quarter on another record high.