Toyota rentals driving new vehicle sales
New vehicle registrations traditionally slow down during the uncertainty of an election. But not in 2017 – the month just finished was the strongest September on record for new vehicle sales in New Zealand.
A total of 14,507 new vehicles were registered, 623 more than September last year. And this has taken the grand total for the year so far to 118,256, which is 11,165 ahead of the record-breaking 2016.
‘‘The traditional slowdown in new vehicle registrations during an election period failed to materialise,’’ says Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford.
‘‘As the 2017 year progresses, conditions of the last 18 months remain largely unchanged, with low interest rates, strong net immigration, a strong New Zealand currency, and a stable domestic economy.
‘‘The combination of these factors is underpinning record sales of new vehicles.’’
Strong demand for new rental vehicles – particularly Toyotas – to cater for New Zealand’s burgeoning tourism industry also played a major role in September’s record sales.
The statistics show the biggestselling model was the Toyota
TOP 10 VEHICLES FOR SEPTEMBER
Toyota Corolla 957 registrations Toyota Hilux ute 791 Ford Ranger ute 781 Toyota RAV4 516 Mitsubishi Triton ute 373 Holden Colorado ute 353 Toyota Hiace van 339 Kia Sportage 314 Toyota Yaris 305 Nissan Navara ute 267 Corolla which achieved 957 registrations, more than 77 per cent as rentals. And second most popular passenger vehicle was the Toyota RAV4 which achieved 516 sales – 68 per cent of them for the rental industry.
In the commercial segment the Toyota Hilux ute was the most popular model for the second month in succession with 791 sales, a slender 10 units ahead of the Ford Ranger. But it is the Ford that maintains the lead year-todate with 7098 sales compared to Hilux’s 6285 sales.
So far this year passenger car and SUV sales are running 6.8 per cent ahead of last year, and commercial vehicle sales are 18.6 per cent up on 2016. If the sales trend continues over the final three months, the grand total will close in on 160,000 registrations.