Hail puts car regos into overdrive

Car registrations have accelerated in Timaru, with last November’s hailstorm being attributed to the massive increase.

The latest data collated by analyst firm Infometrics shows the number of vehicles registered in the Timaru District increased by 62.7 per cent in the year to September 2020, compared with the previous 12 months. This growth was significantly higher than the national figure of -22.9 per cent.

A total of 2921 cars were registered in the Timaru District in the year to September compared with the 10-year average of 1762.

The report also shows the district’s economy has recovered strongly, with economic activity in the September quarter up 0.8 per cent compared to 2019, but economic analysts are warning the impacts of Covid-19 are not over just yet.

The latest registration figures were no surprise to Timaru car dealers who say the hailstorm, and people not having the option of travelling, meant many were looking for new vehicles.

South Canterbury Toyota chief executive Craig McDermid said a number of events had driven the increase..

‘‘The hail was the big one, obviously,’’ McDermid said.

‘‘That was a catastrophic event, which forced people to make some pretty hard choices when it came to their vehicles.’’

Last week, the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) reported more than 12,000 vehicle claims were made as a result of the hailstorm. The ICNZ regards the storm as the single-biggest weather event this century.

HVS Motors Timaru owner Hamish Gardyne said the figures did not surprise him at all.

‘‘If anything, I expected them to be larger.

‘‘The demand for new vehicles was absolutely crazy over December and January, and I expect the demand was pretty similar across the board. I’m guessing it would have left a large hole in the vehicle inventory overall.’’

Gardyne said activity had been steady in recent months.

‘‘Clearly lockdown has had an impact, but even now, I would imagine that Timaru is sitting pretty compared to a lot of other places,’’ he said.

Mike Darren, of Mike Darren Motors, said it was ‘‘hell for leather’’ during the months immediately after the hailstorm, but it had remained busy postlockdown.

‘‘Our fleet was luckier than most, we didn’t get hit as badly by the hail as some,’’ Darren said.

‘‘My assumption is that there is a large group of people who would have been booking their holidays overseas right now, but can’t because of Covid-19. So they’re looking at other things, and that includes vehicles.

‘‘As long as you’re selling the right vehicles at the right price, you can do pretty well at the moment.’’

Meanwhile, the number of commercial vehicles registered in Timaru decreased by 18.2 per cent in the September quarter. However, its total of 512 registered commercial vehicles compared favourably to the 10-year annual average of 490, while the drop-off was less than the nationwide drop-off of 26.1 per cent.