It might not be long until there are five million vehicles registered.

ON AVERAGE more than 800 new and used imported vehicles are being registered every day as Kiwis continue their Covid-inflamed vehicle buying spree.

The accelerated interest means the country is rapidly closing in on surpassing five million licensed vehicles. The last official count, at the end of 2019, put the national fleet at 4.41 million vehicles.

More than 100,000 vehicles have added in the year since then and this year’s count is set to be higher, as monthly registration records are regularly being broken. This is particularly the case with new vehicles, which have achieved record sales in four of the five months so far.

The Motor industry Association says its data shows that, up to the end of May, 123,225 new and used import vehicles have been registered – this total comprising 98,251 passenger and 24,974 commercial vehicles.

Broken down further, the passenger vehicle registrations so far comprise 50,878 used imports and 47,373 new vehicles. Commercial registrations tick off 22,171 new vehicles and 2783 used imports.

While the numbers of used imports being registered mean it is unlikely the year-end tally will get anywhere near 2017 when 177,879 vehicles were registered, the new vehicle sector looks set to smash the current record of 161,770 registrations, set in 2018.

In January there were 13,893 new vehicles registered which was the third-highest total for that month behind 14,834 in 2018 and 13,938 in 2019.

But since then it has been record numbers all the way – 12,488 registrations in February, 15,498 in March, 13,133 in April, and 14,552 in May. Overall, the first five months of 2021 are the strongest on record.

All this when the New Zealand new vehicle market continues to be logistically challenging, says MIA spokesman Mark Stockdale.

“Worldwide shipping capacity is still a long way off pre-Covid-19 levels and manufacturers are still grappling with a worldwide shortage of semi-conductor chips. (Motor vehicle) production is being slowed down or temporarily suspended to match chip availability,” he says.

“Additionally, as the rest of the world comes out of Covid-19, consumers are doing what New Zealanders did last year – spending up large on new items.

“Worldwide demand for new vehicles is outstripping production capacity, and it is possible manufacturers might begin to pro-rata supply to markets. Within those constraints, the New Zealand market year to date has performed exceptionally well,” says Stockdale.

Toyota remained the overall market leader in May with a 16 percent market share, followed by Mitsubishi with 12 percent and Ford on 8 percent.

Toyota was also the market leader for SUV and passenger vehicle registrations, largely due to the popularity of the RAV4 which was top-seller ahead of the Mitsubishi ASX and Outlander.

In the commercial sector, Toyota regained the market lead with a 23 percent share, followed by Ford on 21 percent and Mitsubishi on 12 percent. The Ford Ranger ute regained top spot for May as the best-selling commercial vehicle, followed by Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi Triton.