The 2014 registrations of new vehicles has got off to a rip roaring start with the strongest January total since the MIA started collecting records for passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and total vehicles.
“Total vehicle sales of 10,258 for January, were by far the best January sales since the MIA began collecting records,” says David Crawford, CEO of the Motor Industry Association.
New commercial vehicle registrations were 2,235, the highest January sales since the MIA began collecting records in 1981. New passenger car sales also recorded their highest January sales since the MIA began collecting records in 1975, with 8,293 sales.
“It’s the fourth month in a row that records have been the highest since records began, fuelled by a strong New Zealand dollar and a strong economy,” said David.
There were 10,528 new vehicles sold in January compared to 9,293 in January 2013. January registrations of new commercial vehicles were up 17.1 percent and passenger car sales up 12.3 percent on January 2013.
Toyota was the market leader for the month of January with 17.4 percent market share (1,830 units) with Ford second on 11.3 percent (1,193 units) and Holden third with 9.8 percent (1,032 units).
Toyota Corolla remains the top selling passenger model with 9 percent market share (722 units), followed by Ford Focus on 4 percent (301 units) and Suzuki Swift at 3 percent (261 units). The Volkswagen Golf and Toyota Yaris were the next best-selling models, also with 3 percent each of market share.
Ford Ranger was the top selling commercial model for January with 314 units sold (14 percent market share). The Nissan Navara was the second best seller with 13 percent market share (291 units). This was followed by the Toyota Hilux with 10 percent (231 units).
The sale of sports utility vehicles represented 27 percent of all vehicles sales in January, followed by small passenger cars at 26 percent, and pick-ups/chassis-cabs at 14 percent.
