GST rise spurs new car sales

Toyota Corolla was the best-selling passenger car and overall model for the month with 631 registrations. Photo / APN

New Zealand new car registrations rose 12.6 per cent in September on the same month last year, ahead of the October 1 rise in GST and as rental firms and companies purchased vehicles.

New passenger car registrations totalled 6298 in September compared with 4720 in the previous month and 5593 a year earlier, the New Zealand Transport Agency said.

Used car registrations totalled 7430 last month compared with 7530 the previous month and 5919 in the same month last year.

Toyota Corolla was the best-selling passenger car and overall model for the month with 631 registrations.

A total of 1646 new commercial vehicle registrations were recorded in September from 1717 in August and 1453 in September last year.

The top-selling model was again the Toyota Hilux.