New vehicle sales up on same time last year

The Suzuki Swift was the biggest selling car last month. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand's new-vehicle market continues to show signs of recovery, with sales for the first two months of the year well above numbers recorded 12 months ago.

February sales of passenger cars (4302) were up 500 units (13.3 per cent) on the same month last year and commercials (1357) climbed 7.4 per cent.

But commercial sales soared on January results, up more than 23 per cent.

Motor Industry Association chief executive Perry Kerr said: "These numbers are further proof of the confidence expressed last month, that the motor industry is on a steadily improving path with better results yet to come."

The three best-selling cars last month were the Suzuki Swift (234 units), the Mazda3 (197) and Holden Commodore (195). The Toyota Corolla finished fourth and the Ford Falcon fifth.

Toyota led overall car sales for the month with 551 units, followed by Holden (433) and Ford (402). Toyota also topped the commercial market, with 438 units, followed by Ford (204) and Nissan (142).

The Japanese giant continues to dominate the country's new-vehicle scene. It sold 2479 cars and commercials in January and February, against second-placed Holden's 1356 and Ford's 1216.

MTA marketing chief Ian Stronach welcomed the positive sales start to the year.

"The momentum is holding, and while it's a bit early to say the market has turned the corner, we are seeing some good signs out there," he said.