Economic recovery drives record new car sales in New Zealand

Sales of new commercial vehicles hit an all-time high last month in another sign of New Zealand's strengthening economic recovery, the Motor Industry Association ( MIA) announced Wednesday.
"The strong New Zealand dollar, competitive pricing and New Zealanders' confidence that the economy is heading in the right direction have all combined to help drive sales of new vehicles skywards as records continue to fall," MIA chief executive officer David Crawford said.
June sales of 12,519 new passenger and commercial vehicles were up 17 percent on June last year and the year-to-date figure was up 14 percent on last year.
"Registrations of 4,002 new commercial vehicles for the month of June were phenomenal, not only being the strongest June sales since the MIA began collecting records for commercial vehicles in 1981, but the strongest month of any monthly commercial sales," Crawford said in a statement.
Year-to-date registrations of new commercial vehicles were 3, 134 units, or 21 percent, ahead of last year, reflecting a continued strong market for commercial vehicles.
Last month, 8,517 new passenger vehicles were sold, up 13 percent year on year, while year-to-date registrations were 4,550 units, up 11 percent.
Toyota was the overall market leader in June with 20 percent of the market (2,555 units), followed by Ford with 11 percent (1,361 units) and Holden with 1,344 units.