New Zealand October 2014: Rentals edge Corolla past Ranger YTD

Toyota Corolla

* See the Top 30 best-selling models and Top 65 brands by clicking on the title! *

The New Zealand new car market continues to evolve at record heights. After delivering the highest July score in 29 years, the highest August tally in 33 years and the strongest September since records began in 1975, October sales are at an all-time high for the 2nd straight month at 12,023 units, up 12% year-on-year and lifting the year-to-date total to 106,582 units, up 13% on 2013. The market should pass the Full Year 2013 total (113,117 units) sometime in November. At this rate, 2014 should simply be the biggest year of new car sales in New Zealand since records began in 1975, with the pervious best being 1984 (123,247 deliveries).

The Toyota Highlander is up to #8 this month in NZ.

In the models ranking, we witness the same scenario as last year: the Toyota Corolla starting slow and then catching back on lost time thanks to rental sales. It holds a huge 10.5% market share in October thanks to 1,257 sales, 74% of which are to rental car companies. This allows the Corolla to edge past the Ford Ranger in the YTD ranking at 5,092 units vs. 5,061 and almost certainly this means the Corolla will secure a 7th consecutive year atop the New Zealand sales charts in 2014. The Toyota Yaris also benefits from rentals at #4 vs. #11 year-to-date, while other great performers this month in New Zealand include the Toyota RAV4 up to #7 vs. #12 YTD, the Toyota Highlander up to #8 vs. #16, Ford Focus up to #11 vs. #19 and the Honda Jazz at #12 vs. #18.

Previous month: New Zealand September 2014: Toyota Corolla back on top in biggest September ever

One year ago: New Zealand October 2013: Toyota Corolla leads record market

Full October 2014 Top 30 models and Top 65 brands Ranking Tables below.