Tesla tops new vehicle March BEV registrations: MIA

Tesla led the top five new battery electric vehicle (BEV) models in March, says the Motor Industry Association (MIA).

The Tesla Model 3 topped the list with 125 units sold last month, followed by the Tesla Model Y with 74 units – totaling 199..

Then came the MG 4 (42 units), Volkswagen ID.4 (28 units) and BYD Dolphin (20 units), says MIA.

The top five new plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEVs)in March were the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (32 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander (31 units), Mini Countryman (30 units), Mazda CX-60 (17 units) and Land Rover Range Rover Sport (13 units).  

Toyota dominated the mild hybrid vehicle (HEV) category in March.

The Toyota RAV4 (790 units) was followed by the Toyota Corolla Cross (181 units), Toyota Yaris Cross (147 units), Toyota Yaris (134 units) and Toyota Corolla (112 units).

Heavy commercial BEVs comprised 22 units in March, 82 units year-to-date.

Continued soft demand for new vehicles in March is attributable to the wider economic slowdown New Zealand is facing, while higher interest rates to combat inflation have also dampened consumer spending considerably, says MIA chief executive Aimee Wiley, adding the month’s 11,616 registrations are 27.4% lower than March 2023 (4381 units) and 44.7% lower than March 2022 (9388 units). 

On a year-to-date basis, 2024 is 10.8% lower than 2023 (4091 units), 27.8% lower than 2022 (13,056 units) and 23.4% lower than 2021 (7951 units), she says.

Toyota had 20.6% market share (2391 units), followed by Mitsubishi with 12.8% (1489 units) and Ford with 12.1% (1410 units). 

Light passenger March registrations were 7571, light commercial 3373 and heavy commercial 672. 

March motor power included 521 BEVs (4.5% share), 226 PHEVs (1.9% share), 2577 hybrids (22.2% share) and 8292 internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles (71.4% share). 

The overall top three segments in March were the “Pick Up/Chassis Cab” (25.4%), followed by SUV Medium (22.8%) and SUV Compact (22.1%).

Light passenger vehicle registrations (including SUVs) were 7571 – 34.9% lower than March 2023 (4055 units) and 32.3% lower than March 2022 (3611 units).  On a year-to-date basis, light passenger is down 20.3% (5517 units) compared to the same period in 2023 and 22% (6110 units) lower than the same period in 2022.  

The top three light passenger brands were Toyota (1585 units and 20.9% segment share), Kia (969 units and 12.8% segment share), and Mitsubishi (808 units and 10.7% segment share).