New vehicle registrations after 10 months of 2013 are trending towards a record year of around 112,000 units – or more than 40,000 up on a hard-hit 2009.
Commercial vehicles especially have contributed to the growth, with sales up 26.5 per cent over the same period last year. Passenger cars are up 6.7 per cent year-to-date over 2012.
Motor Industry Association CEO David Crawford puts the soaring sales down to growing confidence in the New Zealand economy.
“If the current strong sales continue it is likely total new vehicle registrations for 2013 will exceed 112,800 units, an increase of about 12,000 units over 2012 volumes,” he said.
At the end of October, 94,133 new passenger cars and light commercials had been registered, compared with 84,463 for the same period last year. That’s growth in 2013 of roughly 200 vehicles a week.
Last month’s sales alone set new records for both commercials (2734) and passenger cars (7962).
It was the best October for commercials since Motor Industry Association records began in 1981 and the best October for passenger cars since 1984.
Registrations of new commercial vehicles last month were up 33 per cent and passenger cars up 8.5 per cent up on October 2012, a combined increase of 14 per cent.
The best-selling commercial in October was the Ford Ranger (478) followed by the Toyota Hilux (396) and Holden Colorado (233).
The Ranger is nipping at the heels of the Hilux as the two workhorses enter the last eight weeks of the year. Hilux has 3998 registrations, Ranger 3870. The Toyota Corolla remains the country’s best-selling passenger car.
While the industry welcomes the growth, it must be noted that the line between registrations and sales is almost always blurred.
There’s a difference between registrations and sales. Dealers often register the vehicles they buy wholesale from distributors. The registered vehicles sit on the yard until they are sold.
So, 300 registrations of a particular vehicle in a calender month might mean, for example, that 15 or 20 – perhaps more – of those haven’t actually been sold to the end user.
Top 10 passenger cars year to date
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Top 10 commercials year to date
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