New Zealand January 2020: Toyota RAV4 (+137.1%), Kia Seltos (#4) stun in market down -6%

The Kia Seltos breaks its NZ ranking record at #4 overall.

The New Zealand new vehicle market slides down -6% year-on-year in January to 13.078 registrations, but SUV sales soar 7.8% to 6.522 and light commercials (mainly pickups) edge up 1.2% to 3.481. Passenger cars are indeed solely responsible for the market fall, imploding another -33.3% to just 2.570. After losing 29% year-on-year in January 2019, Toyota (-17.7%) takes another beating and falls to just 14.6% share vs. 20% over the FY2019 as it drastically cuts down on unprofitable rental sales from almost 900 in January 2019 to only 30 this month… In contrast Ford (+3.4%) gains ground to 11.7% share vs. 9.6% last year. Kia (+35.9%) shoots up 6 spots on December to land on the Kiwi podium for the first time in history at #3, only two months after cracking the Top 5 for the first time. Below, Mazda (-29.7%), Mitsubishi (-23.5%) and Holden (-12.5%) – soon to be discontinued, are all on different degrees of annihilation. Hyundai (+6.5%) and Nissan (+4.7%) also shine in the Top 10 while outside, Tesla (+353.8%), BMW (+82.3%), Haval (+67.3%), Mini (+64.6%), Great Wall (+42.4%), Jaguar (+41.9%), Audi (+30.6%), Skoda (+28.3%) and Mercedes (+10.9%) stand out.

The Holden Trax is the best-selling vehicle to rental companies in January.

Over in the models ranking, below the Ford Ranger (+5.7%) back in charge and looking to be headed towards a 6th consecutive annual NZ win, the Toyota RAV4 (+137.1%) surges again thanks to the new generation, signing a 4th straight month at #2 and outselling Toyota’s perennial best-seller in the country the Hilux (+9%) for as many months in a row. Note a whopping 61% of all RAV4 sales this month are the hybrid variant, making it by very far the best-selling electrified vehicle in the country for January, selling almost 3.5 times the #2, the Corolla Hybrid. But the hero of the month is once again the Kia Seltos – which we are test-driving as I’m writing these lines – lifting its ranking record to #4 for a second Top 5 finish in the past two months. The Korean compact SUV has clearly found its market in New Zealand. Other great performers include the Holden Colorado (+11.3%) up to #5, the Nissan Qashqai (+61.7%), Toyota Hiace (+43.8%), Mazda BT-50 (+10.4%), Holden Acadia at #19 (54% rental) and Holden Trax at #20 (60% rental), the latter two unusually taking the top 2 spots in the rental charts.

Previous post: New Zealand 2019: Ford Ranger secures 5th consecutive win in market down -4.3% to lowest in 3 years

Previous year: New Zealand January 2019: Toyota (-29%) single-handedly weighs market down -6%, Mitsubishi Triton above Toyota Hilux for the first time

Full January 2020 Top 67 All-brands, Top 30 models and Top 15 rentals below.