Covid hurting the supply chain has resulted in big waiting times, but enough vehicles reached customers to push registrations tally to a new high.

STRONGEST recorded sales for any December have cemented 2021 as a record year for new vehicle registrations in which a utility was again the kingpin – a remarkable outcome in the face of covid conditions having restricted supply.

Sharing information today, David Crawford, chief executive of the Motor Industry Association, which speaks of behalf of new passenger and light commercial (ute and van) vehicle distributors, says 12,097 sales last month - 7561 passenger and 4536 commercial - made it the strongest December since record-keeping started, in the mid-1970s.

Industry conjecture expressed for much of last year than 2021 would be a record period has proven correct – the annual count has come to 165,287 registrations, an astounding increase of 38.3 percent, or 45,837 units, over the 2020 tally.

The result also tops the previous strongest year, 2018, when 161,519 registrations were recorded, and establishes the Ford Ranger as the most popular new vehicle, a generation of the Mitsubishi Outlander that is now retiring from the market, having been replaced by a new line, as the country’s top passenger choice and the Tesla Model 3 as the favourite electric car.

Within categories, it was the strongest year for passenger and SUV and second strongest for commercials. Crawford says 2022 has begun with many distributors holding strong orderbooks, with popular models often now subject to significant waiting times.

The fleet mix is changing too, with more hybrids and EVs in the mix. Crawford says demand for vehicles with some form of electrification grew strongly. In all 6899 new wholly electric cars (BEVs), 2461 plug-in electrics (PHEVs) and 13,794 battery-assisted but non-mains replenished hybrid vehicles were registered for the year. That compares with a 2020 tally of 1554 BEVs, 756 PHEVs and 8667 hybrids.

Toyota and its Lexus luxury off-shoot had a stranglehold on hybrid volume. Toyota says it achieved 11,400 new hybrid registrations - spanning the sub-compact Yaris to seven-seater Highlander – up from 8,135 in 2020. Lexus, which tipped above 1000 units for a first time - albeit by just five units - cited 72 percent of its volume being achieved by hybrid models. That’s almost double the penetration achieved by Toyota; it says 38 percent of new vehicles it sold last year had battery assistance.

Small to medium segments accounted of 56 percent of sales for the year. In December, the top segments were SUV medium with 19 percent market share, SUV compact (17 percent) then Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x4, with 16 percent share.

In terms of the while car and light commercial sector, a registrations gain of 3714 units in December represented a 44.3 percent on the same month in 2020.

The Ranger was last month’s top model, with 778 units, and also the year’s best seller, with 12,580 registered - not a new feeling, 2021 being the seventh year on top for a current version introduced in 2011 and retiring later this year.

The second-most popular model for 2011 was another ute that dominated in the years before the current Ranger flexed its muscle. The Toyota Hilux achieved 8430 units, including 644 last month. Then came Outlander, which with 6506 units stood as the top-selling passenger model; not bad for a car in runout, though that process - and the price-slashing that occurred with it - undoubtedly spurred interest. It was followed by the Toyota RAV4 (6212 units) and Mitsubishi ASX (5036).

For the first time a fully electric vehicle made it to the annual passenger car top five. The Model 3 claimed fifth spot, with 3271 units for the year, including 619 in December, which also made it the year’s best-selling BEV, followed by the MG ZS (872 units) and Hyundai Kona (825).

Toyota maintained its perennial position as market leader, with an 18 percent market share (29,258 units), followed by Mitsubishi with 12 percent (20,140 units) then Ford (10 percent, 17,286 units – Ranger accounting for all but 4706 of those.

Ford also led the commercial market last year with a 26 percent share (13,744 units), followed by Toyota (21 percent, 11,375 units) and Mitsubishi with 10 percent (5558 units).