New car sales reach 20-year high

Toyota remains New Zealand's most popular car brand, accounting for 16 per cent of total new cars sales in March.

New car sales hit a 20 year high in March driven by Kiwis' rosy outlook of the New Zealand economy.

New vehicle registrations for March 2014 reached 11,238 during the month, up 18 per cent on March last year.

Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford said last month's new vehicle registration figures were the strongest March since 1984.

"This result shows that New Zealanders are continuing to take advantage of our strong dollar backed by confidence in the economy to replace their vehicles," Crawford said.

Toyota was the overall market leader for the month of March claiming 16 per cent market share (1,802 units) with Ford second, selling 1,202 units (11 per cent) and Holden third with 8 per cent of the market, selling 950 units.

The Toyota Corolla remains New Zealand's top selling passenger model, with 408 cars being sold. The Corolla was followed by the Suzuki Swift (287) and the Holden Commodore with 245 being sold. The Mitsubishi Outlander and Mazda 3 were the next best-selling passenger models.

The sale of sports utility vehicles represented a whopping 29 per cent of all New Zealand vehicle sales in March, followed by pick-ups/chassis-cabs with 20 per cent and small passenger cars at 19 per cent.

The Ford Ranger was the top selling commercial model for March with 550 units sold followed closely by the Toyota Hilux with 505 units sold.

By the end of 2013, there were a total of 3,627,287 registered vehicles in New Zealand with cars making up the bulk (2,440,156).

According to the 2013 Motor Industry Association data, there were also 457,903 registered trucks, 21,082 buses and 64,846 motorcycles on New Zealand's roads.

Top 15 new car models (March, 2014)

1. TOYOTA COROLLA - 408
2. SUZUKI SWIFT - 287
3. HOLDEN COMMODORE - 245
4. MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER - 241
5. MAZDA MAZDA3 - 237
6. MITSUBISHI LANCER - 222
7. MAZDA CX-5 - 218
8. HYUNDAI IX35 - 197
9. VOLKSWAGEN GOLF - 190
10. HYUNDAI I30 - 174
11. TOYOTA RAV4 - 170
12. HYUNDAI SANTA FE - 165
13. HOLDEN CAPTIVA - 152
14. HOLDEN CRUZE - 142
15. TOYOTA YARIS - 142

Top 15 new commercial models (March, 2014)

1. FORD RANGER - 550
2. TOYOTA HILUX - 505
3. NISSAN NAVARA - 270
4. TOYOTA HIACE - 225
5. HOLDEN COLORADO - 168
6. MITSUBISHI TRITON - 156
7. ISUZU D-MAX - 114
8. MAZDA BT-50 - 101
9. SSANGYONG ACTYON SPORT - 81
10. GREAT WALL V240 - 78
11. MITSUBISHI L300 - 75
12. VOLKSWAGEN AMAROK - 72
13. HYUNDAI ILOAD - 60
14. LDV V80 - 50
15. FORD TRANSIT - 46