Tesla sales soar in September

EVs and hybrids sold well despite a slow-down in fossil-fuelled vehicle registrations last month.

The Tesla Model 3 recorded 139 registrations in September out of 243 pure EVs sold for the month.

There were also 54 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and 927 hybrid vehicles registered in that time.

Yet the market for new vehicles was down by 24.9%, in spite of dealers having a relatively clear run in September – with Auckland able to open relatively freely for business.

Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford says that September 2020 registrations of new vehicles reflect a weaker economy affected by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 10,902 new vehicles were registered, down 3623 units on the same month last year.

“Year-to-date the market is down 23.8%, which is consistent with recent months data confirming our expectations that 2020 will finish about 25% down on 2019 volumes,” Crawford says.

The market overall to the end of September is down 23.8% (27,314 units) on the first nine months of 2019.

Registration of 7735 passenger and SUVs for September 2020 were down 25.1% (2587 units) on 2019 volumes, while commercial vehicle registrations of 3167 were down 24.6% (1036 units) compared to September 2019.

The top three models for the month of September were the Ford Ranger (663 units), followed by the Toyota RAV4 (464 units) with the Mitsubishi Triton in third place (360 units).

Toyota remains the overall market leader with 15% market share (1623 units), followed by Ford with 9% (994 units) and Mitsubishi in third spot also with 9% market share (978 units).

Toyota was also the market leader for passenger and SUV registrations with 16% market share (1217 units) followed by Kia with 10% (801 units) and then Suzuki with 8% market share (625 units).

Tesla made it into the top 10 with 158 units registered for the month – although Tesla doesn’t provide sales figures.

The top selling passenger and SUV models for the month were the Toyota RAV4 (464 units) followed by the Suzuki Swift (290 units) and the Kia Sportage (285 units).

In commercials, Ford retained the market lead with 25% market share (803 units) followed by Toyota with 13% (406 units) and Mitsubishi third with 11% market share (360 units).

The Ford Ranger retained the top spot as the bestselling commercial model with 21% share (663 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Triton with 11% share (360 units) and the Toyota Hilux in third place with 8% market share (265 units).

Smaller vehicles dominated the market in September.

The top spot went to the SUV medium vehicles with 22% share followed by SUV Compact with 19% market share and then the Pick Up/Chassis 4×4 segment with 13% share.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Transport registration figures for September – which include EVs – are expected to be released shortly.