Ute sales slow, but Ranger still on top

Tuesday, 7 January 2020

Our hankering for one tonne utes is cooling and fewer cars are being bought.

The release of new vehicle registrations for the full year confirms that the Toyota Corolla was 2019's best-selling car, Ford's Ranger maintained its place as the light commercial top dog (and top-selling vehicle overall) and the overall new vehicle market declined, but an obvious last quarter drop in ute volume is an new twist that might cause industry ripples in the year ahead.

Plush and increasingly sophisticated double cab versions of a vehicle with rural and workplace roots have created a low-cost, high-profit product that has driven a sales bonanza for manufacturers.

Ford New Zealand has become especially reliant, with Ranger's ascendance occurring as its passenger car volumes have diminished. Although volume last year fell off, with 9485 registrations being 419 units short of its peak 2018 count, Ranger still did Ford proud in 2019. The count was sufficient to maintain as the country's best-selling vehicle overall and also the country's top commercial for a sixth year.

**READ MORE:

New Zealand's ten best-selling new vehicles for 2019 - including rental sales.

* EV a top ten seller for the first time in NZ

* Are we over utes? (Spoiler: no we're not)

* Another record year for new cars in NZ - but it won't continue**

It is undoubtedly helped by rental companies, but the Corolla is still the biggest-selling traditional car in New Zealand.

After Ranger the next most popular ute was once again the Toyota Hilux, whose 7126 units represented a 14 per cent share, although it was 960 registrations down on 2018. Third was the Mitsubishi Triton (11 per cent, 5319 units). Those models maintained their top three status in the December breakdown.

The overall new vehicle market also wobbled, with a registrations total of 154,763 cars, utes and vans coming 7007 units short of the 2018 count. This comes after a decade of growth that included five consecutive record years.

The Ranger may still be on top, but the Toyota Hilux is still a strong performer in the NZ market.

The Motor Industry Association, which represents new vehicle distributors, says it isn't surprised - it first voiced expectation of this last January, citing clear cut global economic factors.

'(It is) the first time since 2009, the height of the global financial crisis, that we have seen a year on year drop in new vehicle registrations,' said association chief executive David Crawford last night.

In addition to the Corolla, which achieved 6804 units for the year – almost 500 units below its 2018 result - the top passenger models were two SUVs.

These were another Toyota, the RAV4, with 5611 registered, and the Mazda CX-5, with 3312.

Proof that not all Kiwis want a ute or SUV - the Suzuki Swift is a perennial top-ten seller here.

Toyota continued its evergreen position as the passenger car market leader for 2019 with 20 per cent share, followed by Ford with 10 per cent share then Mitsubishi, and Holden, respectively third and fourth though both with an eight per cent share.

In announcing the 2019 assessment, Mr Crawford cited electric vehicles for specific mention.

While the count of pure electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid cars were modest – with respective counts of 175 and 35 units (compared to 692 hybrid vehicles) – he noted that last year also brought a landmark moment, with the Tesla Model 3 making a strong enough market entry to be a top three model in September, its first full month of sale.

He also noted the RAV4 hybrid, introduced in March, is now the country's most popular vehicle with a battery-supported drivetrain.