Cyclone Gabrielle disrupts new car sales, lowest February since 2014

The Suzuki Swift hybrid was the top selling vehicle in that segment. Photo: Suzuki

Motor Industry Association Chief Executive David Crawford says that on the back of recent floods and the widespread disruption caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, last month’s registrations were the lowest month in February since 2014. 

There were  9541 new vehicles registered, down 23.7  percent (2960 units) in February 2022. Registrations of 6259 passenger and SUVs were down 18.1 percent (1386 units) and registrations of 3282 commercial vehicles were down 32.4 percent (1574 units) last February. 

Registrations of new battery electric vehicles were softer than in the last quarter of 2022, however, registrations of non-plug-in hybrids remain strong.  

The recent weather events on the back of a softening economy were a double whammy for the new vehicle sector in the month of February. 

“While we expect demand for new vehicles in coming months to increase to replace those written off by recent weather events, high inflation combined with logistical delays due to road infrastructure creates a degree of uncertainty in the market,” says Crawford.

The top spots were the SUV compact segment with 19 percent share followed by SUV medium vehicles with 18 percent then the Pick Up/Chassis 4x4 segment also with 18 percent market share. 

The small to medium segments comprised 58 percent of the total market. 

The top models for the month of February were the Ford Ranger (859 units), closely followed by the Toyota Hilux (849 units) and the Mitsubishi Triton (230 units). The Ranger took out the top spot for overall sales.

There were 765 light vehicle BEVs and 8 heavy vehicle BEVs registered in February. The top models were the BYD Atto3 (143 units) followed by the MG ZS (104 units) and the Tesla Model Y (95 units). 

There were 354 PHEV registered for the month of February. The top models were the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (170 units) followed by the Kia Sorento (32 units) and the Ford Escape (23 units).

Registrations of Hybrid vehicles (HEVs) were strong compared to overall registrations with 1237 vehicles registered in February. The top models were the Suzuki Swift (171 units), followed by the Honda Jazz (151) and the Toyota RAV4 (122 units). 

Toyota retained the overall market leader for the month of February with 18 percent market share (1,688 units), followed by Ford with 12 percent (1,187) units and Suzuki with 8 percent market share (768 units).