New Zealand Light-Vehicle Sales Set September Record

An inconclusive general election didn’t stop New Zealanders from voting with their feet in record numbers at auto showrooms in September.

The Motor Industry Assn. says new-vehicle sales rose 4.5% year-over-year to 14,507 units for the strongest September on record.

“The traditional slowdown in new-vehicle registrations during an election period failed to materialize,” MIA CEO David Crawford says in a statement.

An elected government also failed to materialize with no party gaining enough seats to form an administration on its own. Negotiations for a coalition government are under way.

September’s auto sales left the year-to-date total up 10.4% at 118,256 units, with car and SUV sales ahead 6.8% at 78,956 and commercial-vehicle deliveries up 18.6% at 39,300.

Toyota remained the overall market leader in September with 3,473 sales for a 24% market share, followed by Ford with 1,548 and GM Holden with 1,386.

Toyota topped the car and SUV segment with 2,320 deliveries for a 24% market share. GM Holden followed with 1,006 units, ahead of Mazda with 875.

Toyota’s Corolla led the segment with 957 deliveries, followed by the Toyota RAV4 (516) and the Kia Sportage (314).

In the commercial sector, Toyota remained the market leader with 1,153 sales for the month, ahead of Ford (875) and GM Holden (380).

The Toyota HiLux led with 791 units, just ahead of the Ford Ranger with 781. Year-to-date, the Ranger was the top CV model and the top model overall with 7,098 deliveries to 6,285 units for the HiLux.

“As 2017 progresses, economic conditions of the last 18 months remain largely unchanged with low interest rates, strong net immigration, strong New Zealand currency and stable domestic economy,” Crawford says. “The combination of these factors underpins record sales of new vehicles.”