Our take on the latest Car registrations (Thu 2 Sept 2021)
New car registrations drop 35%pa in August
Used car registrations fell 22%pa
Two weeks lost in Level 4 lockdown
The key numbers...
- Car registrations plummeted 27%pa in August as lockdown effectively took out two weeks’ worth of sales. On a seasonally adjusted basis, registrations were down 46% from the strong result in July.
- However, considering that almost all sales were only possible until the 17th of August, a total of 11,725 registrations is relatively strong.
- New car registrations suffered more, falling by 35%pa, compared with a 22%pa drop for used cars.
- There were 488 new and used pure electric vehicles registered in August, down from 1,297 in July.
- There were 538 rental car registrations in August, down from 803 in July.
Total car registrations
Annual running total, Source:NZTA
...and our reaction
- Lockdown Level 4 is a massive blow to car sales that have been doing well over the previous six months.
- The longer Level 4 lockdown in Auckland will also damage sales for September, as the region represents over 40% of national registrations.
- Electric vehicle sales softened in August, even considering the effect of lockdown. The clean car discount has been running for two months now, with a greater effect on EV sales in July, as buyers deferred purchases that would have otherwise occurred in June to ensure they received the discount.
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