Kiwi buyers jump into utes
There was a rush to get utes registered in March, ahead of this month’s Clean Car fines
New-vehicle buyers made the most of New Zealand’s final prefeebate month in March, before the full Clean Car Discount scheme (which now applies to all vehicles on sale and includes fines) kicked off on April 1.
Mitsubishi was a standout, claiming the top spot across total sales in March, passenger/SUV sales, and light commercial.
Mitsubishi also took overall market leadership with 17 per cent share (3566 units), followed by Toyota with 13 per cent (2767) and Ford with 11 per cent (2362).
In terms of market share year to date, Mitsubishi is still at the front with 18 per cent, Toyota’s in second position at 13 per cent, and Ford with 11 per cent.
Tesla benefitted from a big shipment of
Model 3s, with 949 registered. That made it the top passenger/SUV model for the month, more than 300 units clear of the second-place Mitsubishi Outlander at 625. But still fourth overall behind three utes.
Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford says that as anticipated in the lead-up to the Clean Car Discount feebates from April, March 2022 figures are the strongest for any month on record: a massive 4374 over the previous record in October 2018.
Sales were dominated by commercials (which includes utes), with 9841 registrations, as buyers rushed to avoid the looming fees for higher-emitting vehicles.
Registrations of 21,044 were up 35.8 per cent (5546 units) on March 2021. Year to date the market is up 12.5 per cent (5230 units) compared with the first three months of 2021.