Peugeot’s electric 208 winner for July NZ new car sales

The Peugeot e208 was the best selling electric vehicle in July in NZ. Photo: Liz Dobson

While most of New Zealand’s new car industry is feeling the effect of a subdued market, Peugeot will be celebrating with the news that its electric 208 is a top seller.

The Motor Industry Association (MIA) has released July registration figures that show the market is significantly softer compared to July 2021. 

The MIA says the weak market is bought on by raising costs of living, high fuel prices, continued vehicle supply constraints, and a weakening New Zealand economy. 

Registrations of 8049 passenger cars and SUVs were down 19.4 percent (1935 units) in the same month last year. Registrations of 3052 new commercial vehicles were down 39.8 percent (2017 units) in July 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 26.3 percent (3952 units) in July 2021.  Year to date the market has now slipped below 2021, down 6.6 percent (6547 units) compared to the first seven months of 2021. 

Registrations of light commercial vehicles remain subdued following the impost of Clean Car Discount taxes from 1 April this year.

But on the upside, electric vehicles, PHEVs and hybrids continue to reap the benefits of the clean car rebate. 

For Peugeot that means its e208 hatchback (reviewed here) had the most registrations in the EV segment for July with 92 units followed by the Polestar 2 (80 units) and the Kia EV6 (40 units). 

In total there were 550 pure electric vehicles, 635 PHEVs, and 1773 petrol hybrid vehicles sold for the month. 

However, the top-selling vehicle was the Toyota Hilux (957 units), followed by the Toyota RAV4 (690 units) with the Mitsubishi Outlander in third place (685 units).

Year to date the top three models are the Hilux (5739 units), followed by the Outlander (5597 units), and the Ford Ranger (5475 units). 

Registration of 8049 passenger cars and SUVs for July 2022 were down 19.4 percent (1935 units) on July 2021, while commercial vehicle registrations of 3052 were down 39.8 percent (2017 units) compared to July 2021.