A year on from full implementation, the legislation that set out to wean us from high CO2 vehicles is all but running on empty, with revision pending. While it has helped turn consumers toward electrics, we’re also sticking to the dark side.
Read MoreToyota’s RAV4 was the top-selling passenger model for the year.
NEW passenger and light commercial registrations for 2020 were down 22.7 percent on the 2019 tally, a publication specialising in industry news is reporting.
That means overall registrations dropped a massive 35,121 units to 119,620 for the year, says Autotalk.co.nz, citing data it has sourced from New Zealand Transport Agency.
Report author Richard Edwards says this translates into a sobering impact for distributors and their dealers.
“Assuming an average of $3000 in margin, finance and insurance commissions and accessory sales per vehicle, those figures represent in excess of $100 million in turnover lost to the dealer segment of the trade alone for the year.”
The report has posted ahead of official notification from the Motor Industry Association, which generally posts monthly and annual outcomes on behalf of new vehicle distributors.
Autotalk.co.nz’s report https://autotalk.co.nz/news/new-market-down-23-for-2020 says passenger registrations were down 23.3 percent for the year to 80,860 units, while commercial registrations fell 22.7 percent to around 39,000 units.
Toyota topped the passenger car segment with 12,795 registrations, followed by Kia on 7985, Mitsubishi on 6479, Mazda on 6289 and Suzuki on 5935.
The most popular passenger car last year was the Toyota RAV4 with 5350 registrations, followed by two Kias, the Sportage (2916) and Seltos (2611).
The Toyota Corolla, a previous pace-setter in previous years, was next with 2570; presumably a victim of the rental car business having collapsed when New Zealand was hit by the global coronavirus crisis.
In commercials, Ford was the top brand on 9124 vehicles, followed by Toyota on 8004 units, Mitsubishi on 3842, Holden – which ceased existence on December 31 - on 2533 and Nissan on 2376.
The Ford Ranger was the top commercial model for the year, and top vehicle overall, with a count of 7986 vehicles. The Toyota Hilux placed second, with 5808 units, followed by the Mitsubishi Triton (3694), Holden Colorado (2495) and Nissan Navara (2376).
The annual tallies arrived once December registration data was delivered; that showed 5572 vehicles being registered, a 31.75 percent drop on the same month in 2019. The Toyota RAV4 was the month’s top passenger model, with 387 registrations, and the Ranger the top commercial, and top-selling single model, with 662 units registered.
MotoringNZ reviews new cars and keeps readers up-to-date with the latest developments on the auto industry. All the major brands are represented. The site is owned and edited by New Zealand motoring journalist Richard Bosselman.
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