New Zealand December 2011: 5 Toyotas in Top 5! Corolla #1 in ’11

Toyota Highlander (Russian version)

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 25 best-selling models: click on the title to see *

In spite of natural disasters locally (Christchurch earthquakes) and overseas (Japan, Thailand) and the Rugby World Cup disrupting stock and sales, the New Zealand car market is up a very healthy 5% this year at 84,640 registrations, with December up 9% at 6,476 units.

December is owned by Toyota this year: it takes no less than 39% of the passenger car market, leaving Holden (11%) and Ford (8%) in the dust. The 5 best-selling vehicles this month are all Toyotas: the Corolla leads with a mammoth 11.5% share thanks to 743 sales, ahead of Yaris up 8 spots at 4.9%, the RAV4 up 2 ranks at 4.2%, the Highlander up 18 spots (!) and Camry up 9 ranks both at 4.1% of the market.

Toyota Corolla

Over the full year, the Toyota Corolla is the best-selling vehicle in New Zealand for the 4th year in a row with 4,166 sales and 4.9% share, down 15%, followed by the Toyota Hilux down 9% to 3,129 units and 3.7%, the Suzuki Swift up 6% to 2,892 sales and 3.4% and the Holden Commodore down 7% to 2,381 units and 2.8%.

However Suzuki claims it has the most popular vehicle with private buyers in 2011, with the Suzuki Swift clocking up 1,546 private sales vs. 814 for the Toyota Corolla, 743 for the Honda Jazz and 707 for the Toyota Hilux. Notice also the Chinese brands starting to make their mark: Great Wall is up 76% on 2010 at 538 sales and 0.6% and Geely sold 56 units for its first year in market.

Previous month: New Zealand November 2011: Ford Ranger up to #2

Previous year: New Zealand Full Year 2010: Toyota Corolla and Hilux dominate

Full Year 2011 Top 4, Top 10 private sales and December 2011 Top 25 Ranking Tables below.