New car sales slip after high

Land Transport New Zealand figures show that 49,339 new vehicles were sold in the first six months of this year - 1.8 per cent down on the first half of last year.

June sales of new vehicles, while well ahead of May figures, were insufficient to match the 16-year monthly high figure of June 2005, hence the first-half drop-off.

Toyota New Zealand led the new vehicle market in June, accounting for 23.6 per cent of all sales, ahead of nearest rivals Ford with 15.1 per cent and Holden with 10.5 per cent.

Toyota sold 2126 new vehicles, Ford 1316 and Holden 943.

Then came Mitsubishi with 773 for 8.6 per cent of total sales, Nissan with 643 (7.2 per cent), Mazda with 487 (5.4 per cent) and Hyundai with 458 (5.1 per cent).

Sales of all other makes of new vehicles accounted for 24.5 per cent of the total volume.

Motor Industry Association CEO Perry Kerr says June was the second highest month of the year so far for both new cars and commercials, but there are signs the new vehicle market has reached a plateau after five years of growth.

"June is traditionally a strong selling month, and while commercial vehicle sales of 2599 were virtually level-pegging with the same month in both 2005 and 2004, new car sales of 6392 were considerably down on the equivalent month in the previous two years," he says.

The new vehicle market is adjusting to some of the pressures that have been building up since late last year, says Kerr.

The price of fuel, combined with the forecast of softer economic growth, is having an effect on buying patterns.

"But we see it as a market adjustment rather than a doom-and-gloom situation. There's still plenty of confidence out there, and the threat of the falling New Zealand dollar affecting prices will remain an incentive."