Our take on the latest Car registrations (Tue 3 Aug 2021)
New car registrations up 22%pa in July
Used car registrations up 9.6%pa
Biggest month for EVs on record
The key numbers...
- There were 23,109 cars registered in July 2021, a 15%pa rise, and 12% more than in July 2019.
- New car registrations rocketed up by 22%pa, while used car registrations grew more modestly, up 9.6%pa.
- There were 1,934 new and used electric vehicle (EV) registrations (including plug-in hybrids) in July, the largest monthly total on record by far. The next largest month was 1,001 registrations in September 2019, following a new Tesla model release into NZ.
- New electric vehicle registrations (up 639%pa) surged more than used (up 135%). Pure EVs made up the bulk of registrations (1,297), although they grew at a similar rate to plug-in hybrid EVs.
- Excluding EVs, new car registrations were up 9.4% and used car registrations were up 6.2%.
New EVs surge ahead with Clean Car discount
Registrations of pure electrics and plug-in hybrids, annual running total
...and our reaction
- Car sales were strong in July, partly boosted by the introduction of the Clean Car Discount at the start of July.
- The policy has had more effect on the new car market, where the discount is larger, but also where supply has been less constrained.
- Next month’s registrations of EVs will give a better understanding of how effective the policy is at increasing EV uptake, because details of the policy were announced on June 13 so many buyers are likely to have waited until July before registering their EV, in order to get the rebate.
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