Toyota will be celebrating a stellar April with its RAV4 SUV the top-selling vehicle and it being the overall leader with registrations but other car companies won’t be so happy.

New motor vehicle sales declined further in April, but in line with the usual trend of a softer month for the start of the financial year for many, according to the Motor Industry Association’s Mark Stockdale.  

At 9,238 registrations, April 2024 is 9.23% lower than April 2023 (939 units) and 5.1% lower than April 2022 (9,734 units).  On a year-to-date basis, 2024 is 10.4% lower than 2023 (5,030 units), 23.9% lower than 2022 (13,552 units) and 27.4% lower than 2021 (11,846 units).

There were 1,012 RAV4s registered last month, with Suzuki Swift in the second spot with  257 units and 4.2% segment share while Mitsubishi Outlander hit 245 units and 4.0% segment share

Toyota sold 1,664 units in April, followed by Ford with 13.7% (1,266 units) and Mitsubishi with 10.3% (948 units). 

The Battery Electric Vehicle continues to take a hit. The top five models in April were Tesla Model Y (48 units), followed by Tesla Model 3 (19 units), BYD Seal (16 units), Volkswagen ID.4 (15 units) and Volvo EX30 (15 units). 

Toyota’s premium brand Lexus also had a stand-out month with 104 registrations in April.

The brand continues its growth in the New Zealand market, fuelled by a range of electrified SUVs and new, attractive models such as the first-ever LBX hybrid compact SUV and RZ, battery electric SUV.

Lexus New Zealand Vice President Andrew Davis said the range of stylish and premium electrified Lexus cars and SUVs was expanding and appealing to a wide range of new and existing Lexus customers.

“From LBX through to the large LX, Lexus now has a wide range of premium vehicles, incorporating multiple powertrains from full electric to plug-in hybrid, hybrid and petrol or diesel-only,” said Davis.