In March 2024, New Zealand new car sales plunged 27.3% to 11,616 units sold in less than 12,000 units. Since March 2023 is already down 24% compared to the same period in 2022. Last month's sales could be said to have made matters worse. On a year-on-year basis, sales also saw double-digit declines. The year-on-year decline reached 10.7%, with sales of 33,878 units in the first three months of 2024, less than 34,000 units.
Great Wall and MG are in the top 10 list. Great Wall moved up three notches to eighth place. It increased by 469.6% year-on-year, with sales of 319 units. MG climbed 2 notches to 10th place. However, it fell by 44.9% year-on-year, and sales volume was 307.
Toyota is still the leader. The year-on-year decline of 9.8% was better than average. The sales volume was 2,390 units, with a market share of 20.6%. In other words, more than 1 in 5 new car buyers chose Toyota. Toyota's most popular in the New Zealand market is quite high.
Mitsubishi bucked the trend and grew by 76.6%, an increase of nearly 8%. It should be noted that in March 2023, Mitsubishi fell by 76.4% year-on-year. Mitsubishi sold 1,489 units, beating Ford by 80 units. Became the runner-up in sales. Ford fell one notch to third place. The year-on-year decline of 22.3% was below average. The performance was not bad.
Kia is also doing well. The year-on-year decline of 22.9% did not exceed the average. With 968 units sold, it ranked fourth, up two positions from February. Another Korean brand, Hyundai, fell more heavily. It fell 68.4% year-on-year, which was the largest decline among the top 10 brands. With sales of 397 units, it ranked sixth. However, Hyundai's ranking has risen four places from February. From this point of view, Hyundai's performance is quite positive.
In terms of models, the MG ZS is the best-selling Chinese model. With 185 units sold, the ranking climbed three notches to 11th place.
The Ford pickup truck Ranger continued to take the top spot, and the advantage was very clear. With a sales volume of 1,007 units, it is the only model that has sold more than 1,000 units.
The Ford Ranger's longtime rival, the Toyota pickup Hilux, performed mediocre. It fell by 26.7% year-on-year, a decline of more than a quarter. It ranked fourth with 611 units sold. The ranking fell by two places. The Toyota Rongfang RAV4 performs well. Sales increased by 45.1% year-on-year to 791 units. The ranking is up 1 notch from February, and it is in second place.
Both Kia models performed bravely. Both Stonic and Aorun made it into the top 10. The small SUV Yipo increased by 55.7% year-on-year. Sales reached 327 units, ranking fifth. The increase is even greater. A year-on-year increase of 78.6%, an increase of nearly 8%. With sales of 325 units, the ranking climbed 13 notches and ranked sixth.
Mitsubishi has three models in the top 10 list. Sales of the Triton pickup truck doubled, up 124% year-on-year. It ranked third with 681 units sold. Outlander and Jinxuan were seventh and eighth, respectively. Outlander increased by 89.2% year-on-year, an increase of nearly 9%. With sales of 318 units, the company moved up one notch from February.