V8 sales hit the skids

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Car sales are running on empty in New Zealand, with registrations of many top-selling brands falling flat in the recession.

Industry commentator Clive Matthew-Wilson said Holden and Ford - manufacturers on full display at the Hamilton V8 races this weekend - are in danger of becoming obsolete if nothing is done to stimulate sales.

Registration figures show Holden, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota had taken the biggest dip in the past five years as customers cut spending on luxury items.

New Zealand car retail sales were down $17 million in February. Matthew-Wilson said the uncertain future of Australia's car manufacturing industry was having repercussions this side of the ditch, and factories were losing about $50,000 on every car produced.

But Holden and Ford spokesmen denied their brands were in trouble, blasting such claims as "shameless".

Matthew-Wilson said although the Holden Commodore was still a best-seller, Australian Holden factories were on the brink of closing down.

He compared the industry to "a cartoon character that's just walked off a cliff and hasn't looked down".

"It's not a matter of whether they close down, but when. Ford and Holden cars will still be built, but they'll be built in low-wage Third World countries and exported back to countries like New Zealand and Australia."

New car registration figures provided by the New Zealand Transport Agency show Holden and Ford registrations have been dropping steadily since 2003 and recently reached a 15-year low.

Statistics New Zealand said sales of new and used vehicles had fallen 27 per cent since mid-2007, with a 12 per cent drop in January and another 3.2 per cent fall since then.

Matthew-Wilson, who also edits the Dog & Lemon Guide for car buyers, said Holden signified "the beginning of the end" when it announced reduced demand meant it would halve its daily production.

The downturn means thousands of Kiwi car dealers will also go out of business, he said.

A Holden spokesman said a newly announced $6.2 billion government support package for the Australian industry would benefit the brand, and no one had the right to "call time" on an entire industry.

The company was confident in its future and would take a competitive position in the small and lower medium car markets with the release of the new Holden Cruz this year.

Ford communications manager Brianna Elder said Ford was the second-highest selling brand in New Zealand behind Toyota and sold 50 more cars in March than the same month last year.

But there was a global move towards smaller vehicles and the buying patterns of New Zealand consumers had forced the company to change its products.