May 2024 marks the fifth month of a steep decline in light passenger registrations for the New Zealand new car market, according to the Motor Industry Association.

While light commercial sales remained steady and heavy vehicle sales saw an uptick, the light passenger segment continues to be hit hardest by the prevailing economic recession, said the Motor Industry Association chief executive officer, Aimee Wiley.

“May saw a relentless dip in new vehicle registrations, perpetuating an ongoing decline… The distressing trend of falling registrations has persisted for the year's first five months, underscoring the sector’s struggle,” said Wiley.

At 10,186 registrations, May 2024 is 23.7% lower than May 2023 (3,168 units) and 23.6% lower than  May 2022 (3,151 units). Year-to-date, 2024 is 13.3% lower than 2023 (8,198 units) and 23.8% lower than 2022 (16,703 units). 

The top-selling vehicles in both commercial and passenger segments were the Ford Ranger ute (1067 registrations) followed by the Toyota RAV4 SUV (761) and Toyota Hilux (709).

Light passenger vehicles, at 6,369, are a whopping 33.4% lower than in May 2023 (3,197 units) and  39.8% lower than in May 2022 (4,206 units). 

Year-to-date, light passenger vehicles are down 22.0% (9,654 units) compared to the same period in 2023 and 27.1% (12,710 units) lower than in the same period in 2022.