Topsy-turvy car sales

The Toyota Corolla is New Zealand's top-selling model. Photo / Supplied

Big winners, big losers and an overall market starting to stabilise - the car sales charts tell a compelling story.

September's 29.7 per cent drop is worse than it looks, as it's taken from this time last year when the recession had already begun to bite.

But some apparently poor performers say they're still in profit - Mitsi thanks to its parts business.

Strong performance doesn't necessarily reflect a good model line-up or successful marketing.

It could come courtesy of a stronger currency, or helpful parent company policy.

Korean firms have been less affected by exchange rates than the Japanese, and can make hay while the sun shines - Hyundai and Kia on the back of an increasingly strong product line-up.

Meanwhile, Japan-owned distributors depend on factory support.

Those prepared to cushion the huge exchange rate blow are holding their own, while others struggle.

Honda's price promise has lost its clarity as each month brings a new price, with dealers reportedly carrying similar models at several rates according to their arrival month, confusing to private buyers who remain reluctant to spend.

But they're still lured to showrooms by the glamour of new models, with Nissan successfully halting its sales slide by using the GT-R and 370Z as hero cars to pull punters into showrooms.

Mitsubishi hopes to do the same, with a better September than expected as showrooms do run-out deals on Triton ute and Outlander, pending their new replacements in November.

Certainly the buyers are there. Just look at Kia, which signed a new North Shore dealership in March, and has doubled its North Shore figures since.

Industry players say New Zealand has reached a new sales equilibrium, with usual calendar fluctuations - big rental sales September to November, a drop over Christmas - expected.

Car company CEOs are like tortoises carefully testing the air, but Toyota CEO Alistair Davis suggests the news was never as bad as headlines made out.

"We can say it's really, really bad but compare sales numbers to the late 1990s - we're actually above that."

Toyota still leads new vehicle sales, with a 20.2 per cent share and NZ's top-selling model, the Toyota Corolla. Ford, Holden, Mazda and Hyundai round out the top five.