New Zealand July 2023: Ford (+19.2%), Nissan (+31%) go against depleted market (-44%)

The Ford Everest is up to a record #4 in New Zealand in July.

New vehicle sales in New Zealand crater -44% year-on-year in July to just 6,202 units, tilting the year-to-date tally back into negative at -2.1% to 91,167. The market drop was expected, as June saw people flock to dealerships to avoid additional fees before the new Clean Car Discount policy changes took effect at the start of July. Passenger Cars implode -55.4% to just 920 units, SUVs are off -42.8% to 3,405 and Light Commercials are down -50.5% to 1,206. Year-to-date, Passenger Cars slip -12.6% to 14,035, SUVs gain a sturdy 6.5% to 50,930 and Light Commercials sink -12.9% to 21,506.

In the brands ranking, Toyota (-64.2%) keeps the lead but sees its market share thaw to 16.7% vs. 20% so far this year. In contrast Ford (+19.2%) goes completely against the imploding market with a formidable surge to 14.5% share vs. 10.5% year-to-date. Kia (-29.8%) stays in 3rd place above Mitsubishi (-65.1%) down two spots on June to #4. Hyundai (-51%) goes with the flow at #5 but Nissan (+31.1%) soars at #6, up five ranks on last month. Tesla is down two to #9 despite this month being a quarter start. 

Over in the models lane, the Ford Ranger (-10.7%) keeps is year-on-year loss low to reclaim the top spot it holds year-to-date with a dominant 8.4% share. It is followed by the Toyota RAV4 (-53.8%) and Hilux (-71.8%). The event of the month is the 4th place of the Ford Everest for its first Top 15 finish this year. It is likely to be a new ranking record for the nameplate. The Kia Niro is also in great shape at #5 vs. #13 year-to-date, however 45% of its July volume is to rental companies, where it leads the charts with 83 units. The Tesla Model Y drops just two spots on June to #7 while the Nissan X-Trail surges to #10 and the new VW ID.4 makes its first appearance inside the NZ Top 20 at #20. Notice also the BYD Atto 3 falling outside the Top 20 this month.

Previous month: New Zealand June 2023: Record overall volume

One year ago: New Zealand July 2022: Toyota up 18.8%, Hilux breaks share record in market imploding -26.1%

Full July 2023 Top 66 All brands and Top 20 models below.