NZ new car sales solid in May despite constraints

The top-selling hybrid in May was the Toyota RAV4 (above). Photo: Toyota

Motor Industry Association Chief Executive David Crawford says that 13,337 registrations of new vehicles for the month of May were strong given current production constraints, weakening market conditions, and geopolitical factors.  

Registrations of 10,575 passenger cars and SUV’s were up 5.6 percent (563 units) on the same month last year and were the strongest month of May on record. However, registrations of 2762 new commercial vehicles were down 39.2 percent (1778 units) on May last year and are likely to remain subdued in the coming months due to the effect of the clean car taxes.

Overall, registrations of new vehicles were down 8.4 percent (1,215 units) on May 2021.  Year to date the market is up 0.7 percent (491 units) compared to the first five months of 2021. 

With high fuel prices, increasing costs of living and higher interest rates, sales of new vehicles are expected to progressively soften as the year progresses. 

Toyota retained the overall market leader with a 23 percent market share (3,074 units), followed by Mitsubishi with 14 percent (1848 units) and Kia in the third spot with 13 percent market share (1713 units). 

Market share year to date, Mitsubishi retains the lead with 17 percent, followed by Toyota with 15 percent share, and Ford with 9 percent. 

There were 617 light and 12 heavy full battery electric vehicles registered in May. The top-selling models were the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (102 units) followed by the Kia EV6 (80 units) and the Polestar 2 (77 units). 

Registrations of plug-in hybrids were steady with 762 units registered for the month. The top-selling models were the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (306 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (207 units) and then the MG HS (69 units). 

There were 1663 hybrids registered in the month of May, with the top-selling models being the Toyota RAV4 (428 units) followed by the Toyota Corolla (217 units) and the Honda Jazz (192 units).

The top-selling passenger and SUV models for the month were the Toyota RAV4 (923 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (824 units) and the Kia Stonic (564 units).

In a continuing weak market for light commercial vehicles, Toyota dominated the commercial vehicle sector with 42 percent market share (1,163 units) followed by Ford with 15 percent (418 units) and Mitsubishi in third with 6 percent market share (163 units).

The Toyota Hilux took the top spot for the month of May as the bestselling commercial model with 34 percent share (942 units) followed by the Ford Ranger with 14 percent share (388 units) and the Toyota Hiace in third place with 7 percent market share (203 units).