Chinese Brands Lead July Car Sales Surge

The result comes amid recent commentary that Chinese brands are putting pressure on established brands from other countries, MTA Chief Executive Lee Marshall says.

“Many of the Chinese vehicles have one strong appeal to consumers – price.

“They continue to be attractive to drivers on a budget and represent great value on paper. Flip that on its head and legacy brands continue to decline in overall market share,” Mr Marshall says.

“The exact shape of the vehicle market in a couple of years’ time is anyone’s guess. However, from the trends that we’re seeing develop today, we can be certain it will contain a lot less from legacy brands, a lot more Chinese brands, and a lot more electrified vehicles.”  

New passenger cars recorded 8,736 registrations in July, up 14.8% year on year, an increase of 1,124 units compared with the same month 12 months earlier. 

Full details of the month’s sales and how they compare to previous months can be found on MTA’s open-access website, vtat: vsat.mta.co.nz.

It was a strong month for sales of vehicles with a plug, averaging 25% of buyer purchases since March. Hybrid vehicles made up more than half of rental and Government purchases.

“The US-Iran conflict and related fuel cost spirals have no doubt contributed to recent trends, with electrified models now representing the majority of registrations in every buyer segment apart from companies,” Mr Marshall says.

“For many out there looking for a new car, everything is lining up. The fuel crisis and a growing consciousness of the cost of running a car has coincided with a glut of new battery electric options with the right features, right technology, and importantly at the right price.”

One trend compounding the uptake of new vehicles is that the age of used vehicle imports continues to rise, Mr Marshall says.

“The average passenger vehicle imported second-hand now is around 10 years old - a steady and relentless rise from 9.3 years old over the past five years - as used vehicle dealers import increasingly older vehicles in order to maintain a competitive low-cost price-point.”

Despite the strong Chinese showing, it was a strong month for a more established manufacturer – Toyota.

Toyota dominated the passenger car market with 1,681 registrations, more than double Kia's volume in second place.

The Rav4 topped the new passenger cars chart with 699 registrations, almost 300 more than the second-placed Tesla Y.

Conversely, light commercial registrations were down 28.1% year on year, with top-ranked Toyota and Ford both recording falls. The Ford Ranger remained New Zealand's top-selling light commercial vehicle with 738 registrations.