It’s been confirmed that March was a record-breaking month for New Zealand new-vehicle registrations, with the amount registered almost doubling month-on-month.
According to Waka Kotahi NZ figures, a total of 21,046 new vehicles were registered in March, comprising 11,204 passenger vehicles and 9842 commercial vehicles; a significant surge relative to the 12,551 vehicles registered last month.
The news comes on day one of the government’s new wave of Clean Car Discount changes. These see low-emission hybrids and internal combustion vehicles receive a rebate and high-emission vehicles (including utes) incur a fee.
Used vehicle registrations saw a similar boom, with more than 24,000 registrations recorded.
Speaking to AutoTalk, Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford said the high level of statistical shift is something he hasn’t seen since the introduction of GST in the 1980s.
The Clean Car fees do not apply to vehicles already registered in the country, prompting new and used dealers alike to register their high-emission vehicles before the April 1 deadline. Monthly registration data does not necessarily reflect vehicle deliveries or sales typically, but that’s particularly true for the month just gone.
According to the figures, the Mitsubishi Triton was the month’s best selling new vehicle with 2266 registrations (up more than 300% year-on-year for the model), leading the Ford Ranger (1934 registrations) and the Toyota Hilux (1580 registrations).
The only other ute to make it into the top 10 models for the month was the Isuzu D-Max; fifth with 706 registrations. The Nissan Navara slumped from its usual spot in the top five to 12th, with 280 registrations. The Navara has the smallest Clean Car fee of any ute in class.
The best-selling passenger vehicle of the month was the Tesla Model 3 in fourth overall, with 949 registrations. Behind the D-Max, the Mitsubishi Outlander (625), Toyota RAV4 (496), Mazda CX_5 (378), MG ZS (359), and Haval Jolion (301) completed the top 10.
The Model 3’s success comes in spite of the manufacturer lifting the nameplate’s price on two separate occasions during March. It’s believed that both prices came as a result of overseas inflation lifting the brand’s costs, and component supply shortages caused by the war in Ukraine.
Among the curious features in the Waka Kotahi Data is the Land Rover Range Rover Sport making it into the passenger vehicle top 20 for March. More than 130 examples of the premium SUV were registered last month.
