New Zealand May 2022: Kia (+68.2%), MG (+56.9%) stand out in market off -8.1%

The Kia Stonic is up to #4 in New Zealand in May.

13,337 new vehicles hit New Zealand roads in May, a -8.1% year-on-year decline. The year-to-date tally is now 70,116, still marginally up at +1% over the same period in 2021. For the fourth month in a row Passenger Cars are up at +3.4% to 2,581 in May and up 13.6% year-to-date to 12,354. SUVs gain 6.9% to 7,975 but are down -5.3% year-to-date to 34,335. Light Commercials are again almost entirely the cause of the market drop this month at -45.9% to 2,176 due to new pollution laws in place since April. Year-to-date, LCV remain up at +4.1% to 20,486. The rest of the market is held by Heavy Commercials.

Over in the brands ranking, Toyota (+28.6%) repeats at #1 with 23% share vs. 15.3% year-to-date, above Mitsubishi (+7.4%) at 13.9% but 16.8% YTD where it remains above Toyota for now. Kia (+68.2%) secures the largest year-on-year gain in the Top 13 and climbs four spots on last month to land on the third step of the podium. It passes Suzuki (-3.9%) and Hyundai (+16.2%). MG (+56.9%) also shines in the remainder of the Top 10 and progresses to #7, a new ranking record for the brand, eclipsing its previous best of #8 hit last November. All remaining Top 10 carmakers fare worse than the market with double-digit drops: Honda (-21.7%), Ford (-44.5%), Mazda (-50.1%) and Volkswagen (-52.7%) all rather forget their scores for May. Below, notice Peugeot (+94.2%) and Land Rover (+23.5%) posting significant upticks.

Model-wise, the Toyota Hilux (+18.5%) shoots back up to #1 for the first time since March 2021 with 7.1% share vs. 5.7% year-to-date. The Toyota RAV4 (+48.9%) follows ahead of last month’s leader the Mitsubishi Outlander (+102.5%). Note 44.5% of RAV4 and 34.7% of Outlander registered this month are to rental companies. The Kia Stonic (+76.8%) also impresses at #4 (43.1% rentals) above the Mitsubishi ASX (-23.4%) and Ford Ranger (-55.7%) both struggling although the latter holds onto its YTD pole position for now The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is down four spots on April to #7 while the Kia Sportage (+113.8%) accelerates 7 ranks to break into the Top 10 at #9. The Toyota Corolla (+13.2%) remains in the Top 10 for the second straight month and earns a spot inside the YTD Top 20 as a result at #19, which is still way lower than the 7th rank it held over the Full Year 2021. The Kia Sorento signs its first Top 20 finish at #15 although 42.8% of its volume goes to rental companies.

Previous month: New Zealand April 2022: Market dives -25.6% due to LCV crunch, Mitsubishi Outlander best-seller

One year ago: New Zealand May 2021: Market up 18.9% on two years ago, Mitsubishi, Nissan and VW shine

Full May 2022 Top 70 All-brands and Top 20 models below.