August New Vehicle Registrations Strongest On Record As Back Orders Get Filled

The Motor Industry Association’s David Crawford says that 14,690 registrations of new vehicles for the month of August is the strongest month of August on record, largely due to shipments arriving allowing back orders to be filled. The month tally bucks a recent softening market trend bought on by rising costs of living, high fuel prices, continued vehicle supply constraints and a weakening New Zealand economy.

Registrations of 10,940 passenger cars and SUV’s were up 138.6% (6,355 units) on the same month last year (August 2021 was affected by Covid lockdowns). Registrations of 3,750 new commercial vehicles were up 73.5% (1,589 units) on August last year. Registrations of light commercial vehicles is recovering near to what it was prior to the imposition of Clean Car Discount fees.

Overall, registrations of new vehicles were up 117.7% (7,943 units) on a Covid-impacted August 2021. Year-to-date the market has recovered to now be slightly ahead of this time last year, up 1.3% (1,396 units).

August was also noticeably a strong month for registrations of pure electric vehicles (BEVs), with 2,560 units going to new owners.

Key points

• Overall, August 2022 registrations of 14,689 vehicles were up 117.7% (7,943 units) on the same (Covid-impacted) month in 2021, and slightly up 1.3% (1,396 units) on 2021 year to date.
• There were 2,530 BEV passenger vehicles, 27 BEV light commercial vehicles, 3 BEV heavy vehicles, 627 PHEV’s and 1,626 petrol hybrid vehicles sold for the month.
• Registration of 10,940 passenger and SUVs for August 2022 were up 138% (6,355 units) on August 2021, while commercial vehicle registrations of 3,750 were up 73.5% (1,589 units) compared to August 2021.
• The top three models for the month of August were the Ford Ranger (934 units), followed by the Toyota Hilux (897 units) and the Tesla Model 3 in third place (745 units).
• Year to date the top three models are the Toyota Hilux (6,634 units), followed by the Ford Ranger (6,408 units) and the Mitsubishi Outlander (6,272 units).
• Registrations of heavy vehicles remains strong with 647 units for the month.

Market leaders in August / 2022

Toyota retained the overall market leader with 18% market share (2,678 units), followed by Mitsubishi with 12% (1,697 units) and Kia in third spot with 11% market share (1,574 units).

Market share year to date, Toyota has regained the lead with 17% (18,466 units), followed by Mitsubishi 16% share (16,871 units) and then Ford with 8% (8,443 units).

BEVs, PHEVs and Hybrids

There were 2,557 light vehicle and 3 heavy vehicle full battery electric vehicles registered in August. The top selling models were the Tesla Model 3 (745 units) followed by the Tesla Model Y (581 units) and the BYD Alto 3 (448 units).

Registrations of plug-in hybrids were steady with 627 units registered for the month. The top selling models were the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (198 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (191 units) and then the MG HS (98 units).

There were 1,626 hybrids registered in the month of August, with the top selling models being the Toyota RAV4 (342 units) followed by the Kia Niro (166 units) and the Toyota Highlander (154 units).

SUV and passenger vehicle sales August / 2022

Toyota retained the market lead for passenger and SUV registrations with 15% market share (1,630 units) followed by Kia with 14% (1,574 units) and then Mitsubishi with 12% market share (1,265 units). Tesla came in a close fourth also with 12% share (1,326 units).

Mitsubishi retain the market share lead for passenger and SUV year to date with 15% share (11,556 units), followed by Toyota with 14% share (10,421 units) and then Kia with 11% share (8,381 units)

The top selling passenger and SUV models for the month were the Tesla Model 3 (745 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (677 units) and then the Tesla Model Y (581 units).

Commercial vehicle sales August / 2022

In a continuing subdued market for light commercial vehicles, Toyota retained the commercial vehicle sector lead with 28% market share (1,048 units) followed by Ford with 25% (945 units) and Mitsubishi in third with 9% market share (332 units).

The Ford Ranger took top spot for the month of August as the bestselling commercial model with 25% share (934 units) followed by the Toyota Hilux with 24% share (897 units) and the Mitsubishi Triton in third place with 8% market share (298 units).

Market share year to date, the Toyota Hilux has retained the lead (20% share and 6,634 units) leads followed by the Ford Ranger (20% share and 6,408 units) and then the Mitsubishi Triton (15% share and 4,938 units).

Segmentation

The tops spots were the SUV medium segment with 28% share followed by SUV compact vehicles also with 20% then the Pick Up/Chassis 4x4 segment with 14% market share.

Year to date small to medium segments comprise 58% of the total market.

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