WELLINGTON, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Sales of new motor vehicles continued to break records in New Zealand and surpass expectations in the first quarter, the Motor Industry Association (MIA) said Tuesday.
First quarter new vehicle sales were up 15 percent year on year to 39,477, MIA chief executive officer David Crawford said in a statement.
Sales last month were up 14.5 percent year on year to 13,869 vehicles, making it the strongest month of March on record, said Crawford.
Passenger car and SUV (sports utility vehicle) registrations of 9,230 units were up 12.7 percent, while commercial vehicle registrations of 4,639 units were up 18.4 percent.
"Not only was it the first time since the MIA began collating commercial vehicle registration data in 1981 that registrations of heavy vehicles broke through the 4,000 mark in the month of March, it was also the single largest month of all time," said Crawford.
Toyota remained the overall market leader with 17 percent market share, followed by Ford with 11 percent and Holden with 8 percent. Enditem
