New Zealand May 2023: Ford (+104.4%) and Ranger (+153.4%) stand out in stable market (+0.2%)

The Ford Ranger is the best-selling vehicle in New Zealand for the 4th time in a row.

The New Zealand market is stable in May (+0.2%) at 13,354 sales but remains down year-to-date at -12.3% to 61,457. Passenger Cars drop -17.2% to 2,104 and 15.8% share vs. 19.1% a year ago and are down -21.6% YTD to 9,616 and 15.6% share vs. 17.4% over the same period in 2022. SUVs edge down -6.9% for the month to 7,445 sales and 55.8% share vs. 60.1% in May 2022 and are down -1% YTD to 34,047 and 55.4% share vs. 49.1% a year ago. Finally light commercials soar 47.3% to 3,173 in May but are down -27.7% YTD to 14,741.

In the brands ranking, Toyota (-10%) and Mitsubishi (-21.2%) both lose share year-on-year but still manage to lodge higher than YTD levels at 20.7% vs. 19.3% for Toyota and 10.9% vs. 8.5% for Mitsubishi. Ford surges 104.4% to 10.4% of the market, with Hyundai (+26.6%) also in outstanding shape at #4. Volkswagen (+80.4%), Honda (+30.3%), MG (+13.4%) and Mazda (+9.1%) also impress in the remainder of the Top 10 whereas Kia (-62.3%) and Suzuki (-5.4%) disappoint. Further down, LDV (+220.5%), Lexus (+74.7%), Haval (+68.6%) and Isuzu (+58.1%) stand out.

Model-wise, the Ford Ranger (+153.4%) is the best-seller for the 4th month in a row with 7.4% of the market vs. 8% year-to-date. It distances the Toyota RAV4 (-6.8% and 26% going to rentals) and its archenemy the Toyota Hilux (-20.8%) in difficulty. The Mitsubishi Outlander (-45.1%) rallies back up six spots on April  to #4 ahead of the Suzuki Swift (+23.2%) and MG ZS (+43.2%) both in great shape. Notice also the BYD Atto 3 at #11, the VW Tiguan at #13, Haval Jolion at #18, the new Honda ZR-V at #20 and the Haval H6 at #22.

Previous month: New Zealand April 2023: Toyota (+29.7%), Ford (+220.4%) strong in weak market (+4.5%)

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

Full May 2023 Top 70 All brands and Top 25 models below.