New Zealand New-Vehicle Sales See Rebound in July

New Zealand’s new-vehicle market showed signs of a recovery in July, after suffering from supply disruptions resulting from Japan’s earthquake in March.

New-car sales rose 9.7% to 4,879 units in the month, from prior-year’s 4,446, while commercial vehicles climbed 17.7% to 1,826 from 1,551.

Suzuki Swift best-selling model in July.

Toyota regained the overall top spot with 1,026 sales that included 616 cars and 410 CVs. Ford took second place with 465 cars and 244 CVs, ahead of GM Holden with 564 cars and 123 CVs.

Hyundai, which led New Zealand sales for the first time in June, dropped back to fifth place with 520 total units.

“The new-vehicle industry is beginning to regain ground lost over the past three months, when sales were impacted by stock shortages,” Motor Industry Association CEO Perry Kerr says in a statement.

Despite the earthquake-distorted market, new-car sales after seven months climbed to 34,441 units, down just 0.8% from 34,728 year-ago.

The Suzuki Swift was the month’s top-selling model, with 325 units, giving it overall model leadership through the first seven months with 1,978 deliveries, ahead of the Toyota Corolla with 1,960.

GM Holden models took three of the top four best-selling models in the new-car segment. The Holden Commodore placed second with 204 deliveries, ahead of the Captiva with163 and the Cruze with 154.

The Toyota Corolla, usually a strong contender for New Zealand’s top-selling model, still is suffering from an inventory shortage, landing in ninth place with just 122 sales in July.