Meet New Zealand's top 10 vehicles

Thursday, 18 July 2019

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

That old saying, coined many years ago by a French writer, tries to tell us that although change appears to be taking place, in fact there's not much happening at all.

It could be said that New Zealand's new vehicle industry is an outstanding example of this.

Three years ago we published an article on this country's Top 10 best-selling vehicles. Now it's 2019 and you know what? The Top 10 hasn't changed at all. They're the same vehicles – albeit the latest models.

* Half-term report: how is the Kiwi car industry going so far?

* Two-thirds of New Zealand-new vehicles are SUVs or utes**

Five of the Top 10 are still utes, three of the rest are still SUVs, and the remaining two are still traditional passenger cars.

The order of popularity has changed slightly, though. This year the utes take up five of the top six spots on the sales numbers ladder, something which underlines the incredible popularity of this genre of vehicle.

And while it might seem a little surprising that given that SUVs now account for a massive 43 per cent of our entire new vehicle market, there's just three of them in the 2019 Top 10, it probably illustrates the fact there's a comprehensive range of very good SUVs that are all vying to grab their piece of the sales pie.

The 10 best-selling vehicles so far in 2019.

So here, in order so far this year to the end of June, are the vehicles in the Top 10.

Ford Ranger

The good people at Ford New Zealand must be thanking their lucky stars they've got the Ranger, because there's no other Ford vehicle within cooee of its level of popularity. Actually we should be saying there's no other vehicle of any brand within cooee of the Ranger, full-stop.

Last year Ford sold 9904 Rangers, to finish well ahead of second placegetter the Toyota Hilux on 8086. So far this year the Ford's dominance has increased – by the end of June it was 1572 sales ahead of the Hilux, which gave it a massive 19 per cent share of the commercial vehicle market and a 7 per cent of the total new vehicle market.

The Ford Ranger reigns supreme in new Zealand, not only outselling every other ute, but also every other passenger vehicle.

Now, as if to add salt to the proverbial wound, the Ranger has just been updated with no change in pricing.

Toyota Hilux

Hilux has been a massive worldwide success. The ute was introduced in Japan in 1968 and exports began the following year, with the first Hilux arriving in New Zealand in 1976. Close to 19 million of them have now been sold worldwide, including close to 140,000 here.

This, says Toyota New Zealand, makes Hilux this country's most popular one-tonne ute over the past 42 years. So there, Ford Ranger – you might be top dog right now, but it's the Hilux that has history.

Kiwi's still love the Toyota Hilux. Not quite as much as the Ranger, but it's still love.

The Hilux is clearly New Zealand's second-most popular vehicle. Last year 8086 of them were sold, which was 1818 behind Ranger but 786 ahead of the Toyota Corolla.

Late last year the 14 wide-bodied variants of the 21-ute Hilux range were restyled, with SR and SR5 extra- and double-cab versions getting the tough-looking stance first introduced with a range topping SR5 Cruiser a few months earlier.

Mitsubishi Triton

Mitsubishi New Zealand is very happy with how things are going with its new 'beast mode' Triton. This heavily-facelifted ute arrived here late last year, and it promptly bumped the Holden Colorado out of third place on the Kiwi sales ladder – in fact this year it has even overhauled the Hilux a couple of times in monthly sales.

That success has also helped Mitsubishi NZ celebrate its ninth consecutive year of growth.

The company believes the latest Triton is achieving its success because it offers strong one-tonne ute capability at compelling prices. That's certainly the case with the models featuring the Super Select 4WD system that allows them to be driven on seal in 4WD High.

Holden Colorado

Holden is currently involved in a big marketing push aimed at selling more SUVs. But it's not ignoring its Colorado ute. It's by far the biggest-selling Holden here, and Holden NZ is wanting to at least maintain that sales momentum.

Is it working? Last year the Colorado was beaten into fourth place on the national total sales ladder, its 4583 sales bested by the Mitsubishi Triton by a mere 137 units. So far this year the Colorado is still trailing the Triton – but sales are steadily improving, to the extent the ute easily beat Triton in June sales, and may pass the 5000 mark by the end of the year.

Colorado is currently selling at rate at least twice that of any other Holden.

Toyota Corolla

Last year the Corolla was easily the top-selling passenger vehicle with a total of 7300 sales, a large percentage of which went to rental companies.

Now there's a new-generation Corolla on the market, and rental sales aren't quite so dominant even though the model remains easily the most popular rental vehicle with 757 registrations to the end of June – next most popular is the Toyota Prado SUV with 330 registrations year-to-date.

Like a lot of the other utes in the top 10, the Navara is Nissan's biggest selling model.

We all know that SUVs prevail in the passenger market, not conventional sedans and hatchbacks. As a result, the Toyota's share of the passenger market has dropped from last year's 7 percent to around 3 per cent.

But despite all these challenges, Corolla remains a highly popular vehicle. Adding to its attraction is the fact it is available with a hybrid powertrain.

Nissan Navara

Fleets like the Toyota RAV4, but Toyota NZ now has private buyers in its sights with the new version.

And in sixth place in New Zealand's new vehicles Top 10 is – yet another ute. This time it is the Nissan Navara, the quiet achiever of the ute scene, a very solid performer that is easily the most popular Nissan with sales almost double those of the Qashqai and X-Trail SUVs.

This year Navara's sales are quietly improving, too. Last year it achieved a 7 per cent commercial market share via its 3655 sales, so far this year that share has risen to close to 8 per cent.

Navara underwent a facelift last year, and it is due for another refresh next year. While details are sparse, it is understood a significant change will be twin-turbocharging of its 2.3-litre diesel engine, which will improve its torque.

Kia's Sportage has battled with the Toyota RAV4 for SUV sales supremacy since the current model came out. That will continue.

Toyota RAV4

Last year the RAV4 was New Zealand's most popular SUV, with 4964 sales. There's very good potential for it to also end 2019 in first place, because a new fifth-generation model is now on the market, and dealers report that initially it has been accounting for better than 50 per cent of all their sales.

A widened selection of RAV4s is playing a role in this demand. The new version is available with three powertrain options and four levels of specification, including hybrids and a rugged Adventure grade.

The Mazda CX-5 has been a strong seller for the company locally since it arrived in 2012.

This initial popularity made the RAV4 the most popular passenger vehicle in June - and that was with little help from a traditional market source, rentals.

Before SUVs and utes took over, the Suzuki Swift used to be near the top. It's still one of the most popular passenger cars though.

Kia Sportage

On monthly sales the Kia Sportage is one of New Zealand's most popular SUVs, regularly having a great battle with fellow medium-sized model the Toyota RAV4 to be the best seller. You can guarantee the battle will continue for the remainder of 2019, with Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Tucson also involved in a big tussle to decide which model will achieve line honours at year's end.

The Sportage will be a solid competitor. Recently facelifted to give it a refreshed look and more standard safety equipment, it is available in 2WD and AWD, with petrol and diesel engine power, and in various levels of spec.

Last year 3289 Kia Sportages were sold, and so far this year they are selling at an average of close to 300 a month. That would indicate total sales will show a slight improvement in 2019, which will reflect the massive popularity of medium-sized SUVs – New Zealand's most dominant vehicle category.

Mazda CX-5

This medium-sized SUV was a sales hit the moment it first arrived in 2012, and it has remained highly popular ever since. Last year it was New Zealand third-most popular passenger vehicle with 3695 sales, and this year the popularity continues in what is a very competitive market segment.

One of the reasons for the ongoing popularity is because Mazda has done a lot to keep the model fresh. It's been updated, and an impressive move earlier this year was introduction of a special Takami version which is powered by a turbocharged 2.5-litre engine – it's the only CX-5 to have it.

CX-5, particularly the top models, also has an impressive array of safety specification, and that's another strong reason why the model remains so popular.

Suzuki Swift

The little Suzuki Swift hatch was once a regular contender for top honours in New Zealand's passenger car sales race – now it isn't. It, like all the other passenger vehicles, has felt the effects of the big customer move towards SUVs.

But it still remains very popular in New Zealand. It might only little, but it continues to sell in big numbers – 3034 last year, and sufficient sales volume this year to keep it in the Top 10.

A full selection of Swifts is a major reason. Standard 1.4-litre versions can be purchased in GL and GLX forms plus as limited-edition models such as a current Swift Plus, then there's an RS Auto which has an 82kW turbocharged three-cylinder engine under the bonnet, and then there's the performance-oriented Sport which is powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged four cylinder engine that develops 103kW – quite a bit of grunt for a small hatch.