Our take on the latest Car registrations (Mon 4 Apr 2022)
Large used car registrations grew 121% in March
New car registrations grew 11%pa
Used car registrations grew 191%pa
The key numbers...
- Total car registrations increased 69%pa in March, boosted by unintended consequences of policy timing, pushing growth in car registrations for the March quarter up to 25%pa.
- There were 24,346 used car registrations, growing a massive 121%pa, which was driven almost entirely by used large cars (>1,600cc) which rose 191%.
- New car registrations saw more modest growth of 11%pa.
- Electric vehicles also saw the largest monthly registrations on record, with 2,276 new and used full battery electric vehicles registered in March.
- Rental car registrations grew 54%pa, but annual rental car registrations are still less than half of their pre-pandemic peak.
First time used car registrations
Annual running total, Source: NZTA
...and our reaction
- There has been a large incentive to register imported cars before 1 April, as buyers face a fee of up to $2,500 for a first-time used car registration and $4,500 for a new car.
- It is likely that many second-hand dealers registered vehicles under their name to then sell the vehicles after April 1 at a ”discount” on the fee. This option is less viable for new car dealers where even small kilometres or second-hand status depreciate a vehicle considerably.
- The introduction of the fee in April will have also been a good sales pitch in March to someone already considering buying.
- We expect April will be a weak month in first-time car registrations, particularly for used cars, as purchases have been brought forward to avoid a fee.
- The electric vehicle market continues to boom, and high fuel prices are adding even more incentive on top of the Clean Car Discount for buyers to switch to electric.
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