New Zealand's Motor Industry Association (MIA) said the 15,530 new vehicle registrations last month set a record for October which was also the second best month ever.
It was only the second time new vehicle sales passed 15,000 registrations in a month, the other being last June this year. Registrations were up 9.83% year to date and up 5.6% year on year.
YTD sales of passenger and SUVs were up 6.3% and commercial vehicles by 18%.
Toyota remained overall market leader with 29% market share followed by Ford with 10% and Holden with 9%.
Toyota was also the market leader for passenger and SUV registrations with 31% share followed by Holden (9%) and Mazda (8%).
The top selling passenger and SUV models for the month were the Toyota Corolla (1,772 units of which 1,589 were rental sales ahead of the summer tourist season) followed by the Toyota RAV4 (479/304) and the Kia Sportage (354).
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By GlobalDataIn the commercial sector, Toyota again led with 24% followed by Ford with 21% and Holden with 8%.
The Ford Ranger regained the top spot as the best selling commercial model with a 19% share followed by the Toyota Hilux with 17%.
YTD, Ranger remained both the top commercial vehicle model and the top model overall with 7,950 registrations compared to 7,045 for the Toyota Hilux.
"The 2017 new vehicle market is expected to easily break through the 150,000 mark for the first time," the MIA said.