July was another exceptional month for new vehicle sales, the highest since 1987, when the country was booming before the October stock market crash.
But commercial registrations were even better – the best since 1984.
Year-to-date commercial vehicle registrations are running at 25.5% ahead of this time in 2012 (17,386 compared to 13,857).
Toyota grabbed hold of the top spot in the commercial market over a charging Ford in July, recording 544 registrations, up 2.4% from the same month in 2012 for a 21.1% market share.
Ford was second on 447 units, up 18.9% for a 17.3% market share, followed in third by Nissan on 310 units, up 42.4% for a 12% stake, off the back of strong promotional deals for Navara.
Next was Holden on 231 units, up 30.5% for a 9% stake, while Mitsubishi was fourth for the month on 204 vehicles,
The Ford Ranger was the top ute for the second month – just. The model saw 380 sales, while the Toyota Hilux hit 374.
The Nissan Navara was third on 304 units, followed by the Holden Colorado on 208 and Toyota Hiace the top van on 158 vehicles.
Big month for import commercials
The resurgence in supply of the Toyota Hiace continues to boost the used import commercial market, the brand up 120.2% for the month to 284 units – 53.9% of the market.
In second was Nissan on 122 vehicles, up 117.9% for a market share of 23.1% – massively ahead of Mazda in third on 26, up 160% for a 4.9% share.
Ford was fourth for the month on 21 vehicles, up 40% for a 4% share, followed by Isuzu on 14, down 6.3% for a 2.8% stake.
The Toyota Hiace was again the most popular used import commercial vehicle, and it continues to extend its lead, now recording four times that of the markets number two on 222 vehicles.
The Nissan Caravan was second on 50, followed by the Nissan Vanette on 45 vans.
Next was the Toyota Dyna on 23 and the Mazda Bongo on 22.
