The New Zealand vehicle market is showing increasingly divergent trends, with strong passenger vehicle demand offsetting a significant slowdown in commercial vehicle sales, according to the Motor Industry Association (MIA).
MIA chief executive Aimee Wiley says July’s figures highlight a market moving in different directions.
“The July result reflects a resilient market, but with increasingly divergent performance across vehicle segments,” says Wiley.
“Strong passenger vehicle registrations offset a significant decline in commercial vehicle registrations during the month. Although the total market remains well ahead of last year on a year-to-date basis, the underlying results point to different purchasing conditions across vehicle segments.”
A total of 11,663 new vehicles were registered in July, up by just 25 units, or 0.2%, compared with the same month last year. Passenger vehicle registrations increased 14.7%, while light commercial registrations fell 28.2% and heavy commercial registrations declined 20.9%.
Wiley says the wider economic outlook is gradually improving, with easing fuel costs and a more moderate interest rate outlook expected to support household spending and business investment. However, geopolitical instability, elevated freight costs and pressure on business confidence continue to create headwinds for the commercial vehicle market.
Electrified vehicles continued to gain momentum during July. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) accounted for 29.8% of all new vehicle registrations, up from 11.8% a year earlier. Including conventional hybrids, electrified vehicles made up 56.6% of the overall market.
“The increase reflects broader model choice, more competitive pricing and continued customer focus on operating costs, with battery electric, plug in hybrid and hybrid vehicles now available across a wider range of transport needs,” says Wiley.
Passenger vehicle registrations rose by 1,122 units to 8,736 in July, while light commercial registrations fell by 989 units to 2,518. Heavy commercial registrations declined by 108 units to 409.
Year-to-date, total registrations reached 83,020 vehicles, up 10.6% on the same period last year. Passenger vehicle registrations increased 15.1% to 60,101, light commercial registrations eased 0.3% to 19,790, and heavy commercial registrations rose 3.2% to 3,129.
The Ford Ranger remained New Zealand’s best-selling vehicle in July with 738 registrations, followed by the Toyota RAV4 on 699, Toyota Hilux on 608, Tesla Model Y on 403 and Mitsubishi Triton on 335.
