Our take on the latest Car registrations (Thu 6 Aug 2020)
Total car registrations down 2.6%pa
New car registrations excl rentals up 13%pa
Used car registrations down 6.0%pa
The key numbers...
- A total of 20,175 cars were registered in July, sitting 2.6% lower than a year prior – driven by weakness in the used car market.
- New car registrations were strong, sitting 3.5%pa higher than in July 2019. New large cars were particularly popular, up 5.9% from July last year.
- With borders closed to tourism, demand for new rental cars is much softer, down by 85%pa in July. Excluding rental cars, total new car registrations were especially strong, shooting up by 13%pa.
- Used cars were less popular in July, falling 6.4%. This weakness was due to used small cars, which fell 18.2%pa in July.
Car registrations
Annual total registrations
...and our reaction
- With international holidays off the cards, many households are choosing to spend their holiday savings on one of three other things: domestic travel, home DIY, and cars. As households with cash to spare in a time like now tend to be wealthier, we are seeing this spending come through in new car registrations, as opposed to used cars registrations.
- Rental cars usually account for a much larger share of new car registrations as we approach New Zealand’s peak tourism months in summer, so without tourism, the softness in rental car registrations is likely to drag down new car registrations in coming months.
- The weakness in used cars is more in line with our expectations for registrations, with total earnings in the June quarter falling 0.6%pa, and many households becoming more cautious about their financial prospects.
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