Sales of large cars are stalling on the New Zealand market, while those of small cars are on the rise.
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Despite a weaker New Zealand dollar, new car prices have yet to move significantly upward and sales for the month of May have maintained the momentum of past months, and continue to run ahead of 2005 levels, according to official Land Transport figures released Friday.
A total of 6,241 new cars were sold in May, 3% up on May last year and the highest monthly total for May since 1990.
In line with recent seasonal trends, sales in May were up 22% on April.
In the first five months of 2006, a total of 30,723 new cars were sold in New Zealand, 4% up on the same period in 2005, and again the highest since the same period in 1990.
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By GlobalDataTop sellers in May were Ford at number one with 863 new cars, followed by Toyota with 748, Holden 678, and Honda 638.
Year to date, Toyota leads a fiercely competitive market with 4,294 new cars, with Ford in second place with 3,926, Holden third on 3,773, and Honda fourth on 2,929.
The strength of new car sales reflects the attractiveness of newer fuel-efficient designs, and also the fact that a number of car-buyers are bringing forward their buying decisions, as they accelerate their move to smaller cars to reduce running costs.
So far this year, sales of smaller models are about 40% of all new cars, compared with only a little over 30% last year.
Large cars formed 20% of total new sales in the same period last year. That figure has dropped to just 16% for 2006.
The share for 4WD SUVs is marginally up, because of the introduction of smaller-engined and more fuel-efficient new models which have enabled the SUV enthusiasts to gain equivalent fuel savings while staying with model types suited to their lifestyles.
While new car sales were up in May, imported used car sales were down. Sales of used imported cars in May, although 18% up on April, were down 13% on May last year.
So far this year, imported used car sales are down 12% compared with the same period in 2005.
Sales of imported used cars reflect the impact of very competitive buying conditions in Japan which restrict the availability of low-cost, high-value cars.
