Parking NZ Style

When it comes to inconveniencing other people, the Kiwi male is very good. Parking across your access to and from your house, in drive ways that others use to get to their home and garage and footpaths being blocked. All of this to save them walking a few extra metres. If you ask them to move, the reply is 'I'll only be ten minutes". If you say I can't wait that long, then they reluctantly comply

NZ Top 45 Models : 2018

Getting data for sales by model for NZ isn't easy. I managed to get a top 45 which includes light commercial vehicles as otherwise it would have been an even shorter list. Anyway, now for a few points of note.

Japan dominates here with 60% of the list total. Toyota in particular does well, thanks to having such a strong presence in the fleet market. The USA is next, thanks to both Ford and GM

NZ Premium Sales Comparison : 2016-18

Like many other places, premium car sales in NZ are stalling. Is it a trend or a blip? We will see. What we can tell is that BMW Group passed Mercedes Benz in 2017 and just held of MB in 2018. Otherwise it was a steady ship, with a few changes at the bottom end. BMW is actually the third best selling marque but MINI kept them above the others.





Years
Brand
2018

2017

NZ Electric (Model) Sales : 2016-18

New Zealand is mainly a green country, but that is because of rainfall. Most of its power is hydroelectric so that is 'green'. How about fossil fuel? Searching for oil deposits is no longer allowed but as the country is heavily dependent on such fossil fuel, it is imported from countries that do allow oil exploration and any risks associated with their exploration is someone else's problem.

New Zealand / Greece JLR Comparison : 2010-16

This is an unusual match up, one in the south of Europe, the other in the South Pacific. However, the average registrations for the past seven years is remarkably close. NZ sales averaged just over 80,000 with JLR taking just over 1% of sales. Greece was a bit higher at 83,000 but JLR hit an abysmal 0.05%. JLR has twenty times the penetration in NZ than it does in Greece!

New Zealand: There

LDV New Zealand

LDV commercial vehicles has a colourful history. They were part of BL many moons ago, hence the (L)eyland. Later it was owned by (D)AF, therefore the LDV name. In 1993 it became an independent operation and eventually became owned by SAIC in China in 2010 after some turbulent times leading up to that final acquisition. Production was moved from the UK to China.

Things now seem to be on the up

New NZ Electric / Hybrid Brand Sales : 2016

In 2015 81% of New Zealand's power came from renewable sources, the majority of that hydroelectric. Therefore the electricity is quite clean so an electric car is an environmentally sound choice. The problems are firstly the initial cost (as there are no purchase subsidies). An exemption from any road user tax has been put in place until electric (and I believe electric-hybrid too) reach 2% of

NZ Premium Comparison : 2010-16

Premium cars are proving popular in many nations. They are often outselling cheaper mainstream brand while at the same time making more profit. More recently the most aggressive attack on this segment have been the BAM marques, BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz. However other car makers are striking back and the competition is heating up. So a look at sales in this decade would be interesting.

First

Shifting Buying Patterns In New Zealand 2014-15

Comparing the first nine months of 2014 to 2015 (Jan-Sep) shows a trend that is probably fairly common around the world. Below there are four categories, cars, SUVs, pick-up trucks and MPVs and small buses - the latter I assume is mainly vans with seats.



NZ's number one selling car, the Corolla


Cars: There is no surprise that the car is the largest segment but losing share. The 4-door is

New Nissan Qashqai Arrives In NZ

The Qashqai with some typical NZ scenery behind. 


Why is this important? Well, the vehicle in question is a popular type of model for this country. It also reflects a company that looks at the global picture in making decisions. The fact that a car made the other side of the world is sent here, when a not too dissimilar X-Trail already is available shows Nissan wants a sizable slice of the

Nissan Leaf Price Slashed In NZ

So quiet and clean even the wildlife didn't hear or get a whiff of it


You would think that 'clean, green' New Zealand would be promoting cars that were environmentally friendly such as electric. Most power here is hydroelectric which is ideal for such cars. Unfortunately no, but as a free market economy, cars with electric propulsion have to go it alone. The price has been prohibitive and

Selling On Value - Mitsubishi ASX In NZ

The ASX out for a coffee somewhere. Now better value.


Selling with a sharp price is fraught with danger. If you don't sell enough to justify the low price, and all you do is hurt the bottom line. If sales skyrocket, you can make up for the lower price with volume. Of course the opposition will move if it does work. The problem with that is the competitive edge is lost and everyone sells more

MG Returns To New Zealand

MG Rover cars sold well in NZ in the late 90's. Although data from those misty times is hard to find, in 1999 I believe they were the 13th best selling brand and the biggest of any Euro marque. However, once BMW stopped being the importer, things were not the same on the sales front thereafter.

Fast forward to 2012/13 and the MG brand is about to make a comeback, initially in the form of the

New Zealand Top 50 By Model: 2011

I'm not big on sales by model, but for the NZ market, I'll make an exception as it isn't that readily available elsewhere. For some notes on the top of the list, the Corolla is top because of fleet sales. The Swift is next because it works well as a second car and is well priced, but there are more practical small hatches to be had. The Commodore was top until 2008 ans is still as high as third

Australia / NZ Sales By Brand Comparison: 2011

Australia and New Zealand (ANZACs) are very close nations, like Canada and the USA. Accents and culture also have a strong similarity. How about car buying preferences by brand?

To start, Australia has 92.3% of sales and NZ 7.7%. The figure after the brand name below is the percentage the brand achieves over or under the average, NZ being the reference country. For example Suzuki makes 16.9% of

NZ And Diesel

Diesel has become the fuel type of choice for Europeans. It’s more economical and the engine power is more accessible over a wider rev range. On the down size, it does need more maintenance. When one buys petrol in NZ, the tax is already on the fuel. Diesel, however, is charged separately as road user charges (RUCs). The problem with that is all vehicles up to three tones have the same tax, which