September 2018 New Vehicle Registrations Soften Slightly

David Crawford, Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Industry Association says “September 2018 new vehicle registrations of 13,910 vehicles were down 4.0% (597 units) on September 2017. Year to date, the market is up by 1.0% (1,161 units) compared to the first nine months of 2017. Registrations of 9,432 passenger and SUV vehicles for the month of September were down 423 units on September 2017, a decrease of 4.3% and registrations of 4,478 commercial vehicles were down by 174 units (3.7%) on September 2017.” Toyota retained the overall market leader with 21% market share (2,944 units), followed by Ford with 10% (1,369 units) and Mitsubishi with 9% market share (1,219 units). Toyota retained the market lead for passenger and SUV registrations with 21% market share (1,955 units) on the back of strong rentals for the month, followed by Mazda with 9% (812 units) and Mitsubishi with 8% market share (766 units). In the commercial sector, Toyota retained the market lead with 22% market share (989 units) followed by Ford with 20% (901 units) and Mitsubishi third with 10% market share (453 units). The top selling model for the month of September was the Toyota Corolla with 872 units of which 643 were rentals, followed by the Ford Ranger with 802 units and then the Toyota Hilux with 667 units. Year to date, Toyota continues to dominate the rental market with the top six spots occupied by Toyota models. “With the continued high price of petrol and recent new fuel taxes, the trend towards downsizing is becoming more apparent. The SUV Medium segment remains the top segment for the month of September with 18% market share. This was followed SUV Compact segment with 14%, the Pick Up/chassis Cab 4x4 also with 14% of the market, and then Small Vehicle segment with 11% market share” said Mr Crawford.