Our take on the latest Car registrations (Mon 2 May 2022)
Large used car registrations dropped 59% in April
Small used cars grew 6.3%pa
New car registrations fell 3.2%pa
The key numbers...
- Total car registrations were down 21%pa in April, following a very strong month in March.
- There were just 2,715 large used car (>1,600cc) registrations in April, down from 20,105 in March, following the introduction of a fee on high-emissions vehicles.
- Large new cars were also affected by the fee, although the 15%pa decline in registrations was much more modest.
- Smaller cars performed better in April, with used small car registrations up 6.3%, and new small car registrations up 15%pa.
- There were 869 pure electric vehicle registrations in April, more than double the number in April last year, but down from last month’s spike of 2,276.
New and used car registrations
Annual running total, source: NZTA
...and our reaction
- Registrations of larger vehicles, particularly for used cars, saw a dramatic decline in April, which was expected after the introduction of a fee on high-emissions vehicles for first-time registrations.
- As of 1 April, the rebate is now available for a wider range of new and used cars, extending beyond electric vehicles and hybrids to also cover fuel-efficient cars.
- Consequently, there was some growth in smaller car registration numbers, although this gain was not enough to offset the decline in larger vehicles.
- We expect weakness in larger used car registrations to persist throughout the June and September quarters, as purchasing decisions had been brought forward ahead of the fee’s introduction.
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