June new vehicle sales the worst in a decade, possible relief on the way

The Ford Ranger was the top-selling car in June, and two other utes were in the top three.

June new vehicle registrations slumped to the worst in a decade, the Motor Industry Association says.

It was the sixth straight month of decline, with the MIA already warning in May that some dealers could go to the wall in a “distressing” market.

At 9423 new vehicle registrations, June 2024 was 60% lower than June 2023 (23,560).

That month makes a harsh comparison because sales hit a record in June 2023 due to a pending lowering of the Clean Car Discount from July 1 which fuelled an EV boom (the rebate was scrapped after December).

But new vehicle sales were still 21.8% lower than June 2022.

In the year to date, new vehicle sales were 26.2% lower than 2023, and 23.5% lower than 2022, before the Clean Car Discount bubble.

The latest registration figures arrived shortly after Transport Minister Simeon Brown drove a legislative tweak that could mean a watering-down of the Clean Car Standard, which involves penalties for importers who bring higher-emission vehicles into the country.

A complicated formula involves a $100 penalty for each gram of CO2 per kilometre over a government-set average applied to new vehicles, and half that amount to secondhand imports.

The penalties can be offset by credits earned for importing lower-emission vehicles.

“The Clean Car Standard is also biting hard right now,” the MIA chief executive Aimee Wiley said in May.

Wiley also cited other factors including high interest rates, the slow economy and the difficulty of ordering stock six months or more in advance in a climate where regulations were constantly shifting.

Changes to the Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Standard) Act, passed on June 27 - notwithstanding grumbles from Tesla about consultation - mean the emissions standards for imported vehicles, set in the legislation until 2027, can now be dialled-down by Cabinet.

Brown has a review under way. Wiley said today, “The Clean Car Standard CO2 targets and associated policy settings absolutely needed to be reviewed and adjusted.”

Battery electric vehicle sales were 511 in June, compared to 2595 in the same month last year.

The top sellers for June:

1. Tesla Model 3: 67
2. Hyundai Kona: 62
3. BYD Atto 3: 47
4. Hyundai Ioniq 5: 41
5. Tesla Model Y: 40

Like full EVs, plug-in hybrid sales have plunged since the end of the Clean Car Discount and the announcement of the implementation of Road User Charges for light electric vehicles. June sales were 227, down from June 2023′s 1310.

Not plug-in hybrids (which are not subject to the road user tax) were 2115 from the year-ago 4266.

Light commercial vehicles - no longer subject to the “ute tax”, scrapped at the same time as the Clean Car Discount - were a point of relative strength.

With year-to-date registrations “only” 8.5 per cent lower than year-to-date, registrations are 8.5% lower than the same period for 2023.

The top sellers for June:

1. Ford Ranger: 889
2. Toyota Hilux: 591
3. Mitsubishi Triton: 436

Tesla June quarter sales down 5% to 443,956 vehicles globally over same period last year.
Second quarter of decline.
Bad, but not as bad as expected. A nose ahead of BYD.
Shares up 9%
The company built 410,831 vehicles in Q2 a 14% reduction over the prior year.
Tesla's June… pic.twitter.com/ESrOABtsJb

— Chris Keall (@ChrisKeall) July 2, 2024

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.