Low cars sales in NZ for March, Mitsubishi Triton gets traction

The sixth generation Mitsubishi Triton ute has just been launched. Photo: Mitsubishi

While March was a soft month for new vehicle registrations due to a wider economic slowdown in New Zealand, Mitsubishi Motors can celebrate with the successful launch of the sixth generation Triton ute.

Motor Industry Association (MIA) figures released today showed March figures were 27.4% lower than March 2023 (4,381 units) and 44.7% lower  than March 2022. On a year-to-date basis, registrations were 10.8% lower than 2023, 27.8% lower than 2022 and 23.4% lower than 2021.

MIA Chief Executive Aimee Wiley said that continued soft demand in March is “attributable to the wider economic slowdown New Zealand is currently facing”.

“Higher interest rates to combat inflation have also dampened consumer spending considerably,” said Wiley.

The Top three overall market leaders in March 2024 were Toyota with 20.6% market share (2,391 units), followed by Mitsubishi with 12.8% (1,489 units) and Ford with 12.1% (1,410 units). 

The Toyota RAV4 had 791 registrations last month. Photo: Toyota

March registrations breakdown were Light Passenger 7,571, Light Commercial 3,373 and Heavy Commercial at 672.  

The top selling vehicle was the Ford Ranger ute (1007 registrations), followed by Toyota’s RAV4 (791) while there were 681 registrations of the Triton.

The all-new Triton arrived here earlier this year with Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand (MMNZ) saying it had “superior all-round performance, improved safety technology and a more robust design”.

MMNZ Chief Operating Officer, Tony Johnston, said:  “In recent years, Triton has emerged as a serious challenger at the front of the pack – and this latest evolution reinforces its claim as one of the best-equipped utes on the market.”

The facelift Tesla Model 3 was the best selling BEV last month. Photo: Liz Dobson

“At the end of 2022, we took delivery of 5,000 Triton units to meet overwhelming customer demand. In 2023 we surpassed a total of 50,000 Tritons sold in New Zealand.

“We are incredibly proud of that achievement and genuinely excited about what this Next Generation range has to offer, as Triton continues to go from strength to strength.”

Toyota dominated the hybrid market with its models in the top five, with the facelift Tesla Model 3 accounting for 125 units, making it number one in the Battery Electric Vehicle segment. Plug-ins were hit with Road User Charger costs, that have since been reduced.