New vehicle sales surge in June

The top selling vehicle in New Zealand during June was the Toyota Hilux, with 676 sold. Photo / Supplied

Sales of new vehicles in June were up by more than 30 per cent from the same time last year, according New Zealand Transport Agency figures out today.

NZTA registration results show a total of 10,101 new vehicles were sold last month, compared to 7,652 in June 2011.

New car sales had their strongest June sales month since 2005, up 33 per cent from the same month last year to 7,142.

New commercial vehicle sales increased 29 per cent from June 2011, up to 2,959.

Perry Kerr, chief executive of the Motor Industry Association, said the new vehicle industry is now "extremely buoyant".

"While we could expect any comparison with last year, when the industry was hit with severe stock shortages to be up month over month or year over year, sales are particularly strong," said Kerr.

The Motor Trade Association said the Field Days played a part in last month's increased sales.

"The Field Days Specials offered by distributors has worked well to draw in buyers," said spokesperson Ian Stronach.

"There's good availability and solid support from distributors, which means that dealers have been able to provide some very good offers to entice buyers."

Many models not usually associated with farming activities also enjoyed a good June, he said.

"These recent figures show that the new vehicle market is well on the way to recovery," said Stronach.

The most popular brand of vehicle sold was Toyota, with 1,461 passenger cars registrations last month. This was followed by Ford with 766 and Holden with 712.

Toyota also led commercial vehicles with 933 registrations, followed by Ford with 485 and Nissan 377.

The top three selling models were all light commercials - the Toyota Hilux with 676, Ford Ranger with 440, and Nissan Navara with 370 sales.

In the passenger car segment the Toyota Highlander was in number one position with 358 registrations, Suzuki Swift second with, and the Ford Focus with 278.