Corolla enjoys solid start to 2018
TJanuary was again a record month for new vehicle registrations, writes Rob Maetzig.
oyota has enjoyed a powerful start to its 2018 sales year, its January new vehicle registrations almost double those of its closest competitor.
Last month the Japanese brand sold 3270 new vehicles for a 22 per cent market share - way ahead of second placed Ford which achieved 1654 registrations for an
11 per cent share.
The Toyota performance helped total new vehicle registrations for January reach 14,834, which was a record January for the fifth year in succession. Overall, the registrations were up 7.3 per cent or 1011 units on January 2017.
Motor Industry Association chief executive officer David Crawford says the strength of growth in the new vehicle market ran somewhat against expectations, making it once again the strongest-ever start to a new sales year.
‘‘As 2018 gets under way, nothing has changed with the economic environment that has existed for most of the last 24 months,’’ he says.
‘‘The key drivers of new vehicle sales remain the continued elevated levels of net immigration, low cost of debt, a strong national economy, and a stable government.’’
And big sales to rental car fleets.
The top-selling passenger vehicle last month was the Toyota Corolla which achieved 958 registrations - with 696 or 72 per cent of them as rental vehicles. Second was the Toyota Highlander with 429 registrations (292 as rentals), and third was the Toyota RAV4 with 421 registrations (209 as rentals).
The Ford Focus enjoyed a solid month with 320 registrations, but once again 196 of them were as rentals.
In the commercial sector, Ford was again the market leader with
808 registrations, led by the Ranger ute which was the sector’s topselling model with 713 sales. It was followed by more utes - Toyota Hilux (636 sales), Holden Colorado (376), Mitsubishi Triton (318), Nissan Navara (284), Isuzu D-Max (192), and Mazda BT-50 (172 sales).
Overall, January saw 10,797 passenger car and SUV registrations which was up 6.4 per cent on January last year, while commercial vehicle registrations of 4037 unit was up 9.9 per cent on the same time last year.
The SUV medium segment accounted for 16 per cent of the market, followed by the small passenger segment with 14 per cent, and SUV compact with 13 per cent.
Top 10 vehicles sales January
❚ Toyota Corolla 958 sales
❚ Ford Ranger 713
❚ Toyota Hilux 636
❚ Toyota Highlander 427
❚ Toyota RAV4 421
❚ Holden Colorado 376
❚ Ford Focus 320
❚ Mitsubishi Triton 318
❚ Kia Sportage 315
❚ Mazda CX-5 305
'The key drivers of new vehicle sales remain the continued elevated levels of net immigration, low cost of debt, a strong national economy, and a stable government.'
David Crawford
Motor Industry Association chief executive officer