Boom year tipped for new car sales

By ALASTAIR SLOANE, motoring editor

The Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon and Toyota Corolla continue to dominate new car sales in New Zealand as the 2004 market shows signs of bettering a buoyant 2003.

Sales in the first three months of this year are nearly 10 per cent up on the same period last year.

March alone was a boom month - sales of 8820 new vehicles (6506 cars and 2314 commercials) were up 27 per cent on February's 6921 total.

"The March figures confirm that the recent cycle of strength in the new vehicle market shows no sign of abating," said Motor Industry Association chief executive Perry Kerr.

For the first quarter, passenger car sales of 17,438 units were up 9 per cent on last year. The 5538 commercial sales were ahead 11.5 per cent.

"We are over 2000 units ahead of last year's first quarter, and 2003 went on to produce a 92,000 unit new vehicle market, the strongest since the early years of used imports, said Kerr.

"The market is recognising the excellent value now represented by new vehicles and making decisions accordingly."

Land Transport Safety Authority figures show Toyota led the market for the first quarter, with sales of 4224 cars and commercials for a 18.4 per cent share.

Holden is second with 3590 sales (15.6 per cent) and Ford is third at 15.5 per cent with 3550.

Mitsubishi lies fourth with 2132 for 9.3 per cent, followed by Nissan with 1696 (7.4), Honda 1513 (6.6), Mazda 1292 (5.6), Hyundai 615 (2.7) and Subaru 479 (2.1).

BMW is the European leader with 581 sales for a 2.5 per cent share, followed by Peugeot with 363 (1.6), Mercedes-Benz 363 (1.6), Volkswagen 342 (1.5) and Audi 222 (1.0).

March sales, says the LTSA, were also dominated by Toyota with 1568 units for 17.8 per cent of the market. Ford was second with 1417 sales for 16.1 per cent, and Holden third with 1252 for 14.2 per cent. Mitsubishi sold 911 cars and commercials for 10.3 per cent.

But sales figures can go topsy-turvy, depending on the source. The LTSA lists registrations only and includes sales of Toyota-owned Lexus and Daihatsu in Toyota figures. The MIA charts retail sales and leaves Lexus and Daihatsu out of the Toyota mix.

The MIA has Toyota leading the year with 3818 overall sales for 16.6 per cent, followed by Ford with 3550 (15.4) and Holden with 3269 (14.2).

But it has Holden heading passenger car sales for the first quarter with 2552 (14.6 per cent), followed by Ford with 2525 (14.4) and Toyota with 2522 (14.4).

The MIA has Ford leading March car and commercial sales with 1417 (16 per cent), followed by Toyota with 1393 (15.7) and Holden 1126 (12.7).

Ford also leads the March passenger car segment with 968 (14.4), says the MIA. Toyota is second with 862 (13.2) and Holden third with 837 (12.8).

Toyota leads Ford and Holden overall, but in the passenger car market the three brands are covered by just 30 units, with Holden holding a slender lead.

The MIA says Commodore was again the top selling car for the month, with Falcon a close second and long-time third placeholder Corolla slipping to fourth behind Honda Accord.

The six-cylinder Commodore has been the standout seller for about four-and-a-half years, heading most monthly sales charts since the VT Series II model appeared in 1999.

The BA Falcon upset the Commodore's unbroken run since 1999 for the first time last year.

The BA Falcon range sold 560 units last month, with the high-performance XR6 and XR8 variants accounting for 62 per cent of sales.

"New Zealanders have an ongoing love affair with sports-orientated performance-based Falcons," said Ford New Zealand managing director Richard Matheson.

"Undoubtedly, the performance of Ford drivers in the local V8 Touring Car Series and the Aussie V8 Supercars has helped increase brand awareness."