Bumper month as ute sales lift off

THE market for utes and other commercial vehicles is on a roll, with April numbers showing a pick-up in sales to their highest in 30 years, for the month.

According to a Motor Industry Association report, 2235 commercial vehicles were registered last month, the best April figure since 1982 and up 38 per cent from the same time last year.

The report said 19 per cent of all registrations in April were for pick-up or chassis cab vehicles, the most popular of which was the Ford Ranger.

Armstrong Motor Group managing director Rick Armstrong said the strength of the New Zealand dollar meant prices for many commercial vehicles were down.

‘‘I think the pricing on them is pretty good, and that’s a bit of a by-product of the Japanese yen being weak against the New Zealand dollar.

‘‘Utes are very well-priced and I think people are gobbling up those opportunities.’’

The Toyota Hilux was the most popular commercial vehicle sold in the year to April 2013, but for the month of April fell to second, behind the Ford Ranger.

A new Hilux ranges from $35,790 to $59,390. According to Ford’s website, a new Ranger varies from $40,640 to $66,640.

Armstrong said he was usually a bit nervous on April sales but the month had been significantly stronger than expected.

‘‘Usually I’m a bit wary with Aprils generally but this April seemed to fall into place.

‘‘I think the commercial side of the car business has been strong for a long time and there are a lot of very good deals going down on commercial cars at the moment.’’

Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford said commercial vehicle sales had continued trend.

‘‘This result shows the commercial vehicle market remains strong, and well up on the levels of sales pre the global financial crisis.’’

The Toyota brand remained the most popular in New Zealand and represented 19.3 per cent of total registrations for April, despite the

their

recent

upward monthly dip for Hilux. Passenger car sales for the month were also up on a year ago, by 8.8 per cent.

The top-selling passenger car was the Suzuki Swift, followed closely by the Toyota Corolla.

Armstrong suggested May was typically a stronger month than April.

‘‘The car industry’s back on its feet, which is good.’’