Ute ‘love affair’ endures

The Kiwi love affair with utes continues, despite a fall in commercial vehicle sales in May.

New commercial vehicle sales dipped slightly in May to just under 3200, down 71 compared with the same month last year. The category includes top selling utes such as the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Hilux.

‘‘While sales of new commercial vehicles dropped slightly . . . compared to May last year, New Zealanders’ love affair with utes continues to see these models gaining market share,’’ according to Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford.

In May, the Ford Ranger was the top selling model overall, with 511 vehicles, followed by the Hilux with 404 and then the Nissan Navara with just under 400.

Utes made up 20 per cent of the new vehicle market in 2014, making it the single most important model segment.

New car registrations hit 6843 in May, up 41 on the same month last year. While better than in April, May car registrations were well below the more than 9000 in January.

Car registrations have been easing since the start of the year, and economists said that may show many households had taken advantage of cheap car prices because of the high Kiwi dollar and low interest rates to replace their older cars.

However, more recently the dollar has dropped back though there tends to be a delayed impact on car prices from a change in the currency.

But used car importers support tougher import standards, some of which are due to come into force next year, though Vinsen did not expect them to have much impact on the age of vehicles coming into the country.

Cars in the last decade had been so well-made that they last longer, Vinsen said.

The glut of used car imports, in part driven by New Zealand’s high dollar, has also had an impact on new vehicle prices.