New Zealand Market Continues at Record Pace

New Zealand’s legendary, if not notorious, traffic congestion is likely to get worse as Kiwis continue to rush new-vehicle dealerships.

August sales, up 13.3% to 12,677 units, were the highest for the month since 1984, the Motor Industry Assn. reports. The August result consisted of 8,896 car and SUV sales and a record 3,781 commercial-vehicle deliveries.

“An already record year-to-date for new-vehicle registrations just got stronger,” MIA CEO David Crawford says in a statement.

The year-to-date market is up 7.0% to 93,266 units and headed for another record year.

Toyota remained the market leader in August, with 2,281 units for an 18% share, ahead of Ford (1,463) and GM Holden (1,051).

Toyota led the car/SUV segment for the month with 1,542 units, followed by Mazda (813) and GM Holden (768). Ford stayed atop the CV market with 861 units, comfortably ahead of Toyota (739) and GM Holden (283).

Year-to-date, both Ford and Toyota have 21% of the CV market, with Ford slightly in front on 6,218 units to Toyota’s 6,055.

The Toyota Corolla was the top-selling passenger model in August with 535 units, followed by Kia Sportage (295) and Toyota Yaris (289).

The Ford Ranger led the CV market in August with (721 units) and was the overall top- selling model for the month. The Toyota Hilux followed with 486 units, ahead of the Nissan Navara (273).

After eight months, Ranger is the country’s top-selling CV with 5,646 units, followed by Hilux (4,235).

“Economic indicators remain the same as for recent months, with the strongest net immigration on record, healthy tourism sector and a generally robust economy, all of which continues to drive sales of new vehicles year-to-date beyond that expected for 2016,” Crawford says.