Fine-free utes still rule
There are still supply struggles, but the NZ new-vehicle market is breaking records anyway
How will buyers respond to the Government’s “feebate” fines from January 2022? We’ll have to wait and see but for now, pickup trucks still rule the sales charts.
The Ford Ranger is back on top year-to-date, after another mega sales month for new-vehicle distributors. May 2021 registrations of 14,552 were up 6239 on the same time last year — and the largest on record.
New stock continues to arrive but the importation business remains “logistically challenging”, according to Motor Industry Association spokesperson Mark Stockdale. “Worldwide shipping capacity is still a long way off preCovid-19 levels and manufacturers are still grappling with a worldwide shortage of semi-conductor chips.
“Additionally, as the rest of the world comes out of Covid-19, consumers are doing what NZers did last year, spending up large on new items. Worldwide demand for new vehicles is outstripping production capability and it is possible manufacturers might begin to pro-rata supply to markets.”
Year to date, Kiwi sales are up 64.9 per cent compared with the first five months of 2020, which was severely affected by Covid-19 lockdown. Total sales to the end of May put Ranger ahead of rival Hilux again, albeit by the slimmest of margins: at 4223 registrations, the Ford is just 77 units ahead of the Toyota. The top passenger/SUV model was the Mitsubishi Outlander (fourth overall behind another Mitsubishi, the Triton ute).
Toyota remains the overall market leader with 16 per cent share, followed by Mitsubishi (12 per cent) and Ford (9 per cent). In the passenger/SUV segments it’s still Toyota (13 per cent), followed by Kia (12 per cent) and Mitsubishi (also 12 per cent). For commercials, including utes but also vans, Toyota claims 23 per cent, Ford (21 per cent) and Mitsubishi (12 per cent).