Clean Car uncertainty holding back market, some believe.

NEW passenger vehicle registrations showed improvement in October, but the return was soft compared to prior years.

That’s the assessment of data for last month from the Motor Industry Association, the new vehicle distributors’ representative organisation.

Chief executive Aimee Wiley today said new vehicle registrations were beginning to show signs of improvement.

She cited last months’ tally result of 12,944 light vehicles - passenger models, vans and one utilities - as making October the strongest month since Clean Car Discount rate changes impacted on July 1. 

However, October registrations were nonetheless 12.2 percent lower than the count for October of last year, when a 14,736 unit count was recorded, and 7.7 percent lower than for October, 2021. 

On a year-to-date basis, the market for 2023 is running 9.1 percent - or 12,535 units - behind 2022 and 8.8 percent lower than 2021.

The slide has been most pronounced in the second half of the year; the general election result that appears to have placed National as the dominant element of a new government has amplified the slowdown, with growing conjecture buyers are holding off until the Clean Car legislation alters.

There has been no direct comment about this from the MIA today. 

Light passenger accounted for the greater part of last month’s count, EV and hybrid models doing well with the new MG4 (pictured) being a strong fresh performer in the fully battery sector.

These were not unsurprising trends, with the incoming National-led Government having signalled intent to drop rebates for sub $80,000 new electrics and also end the ute tax that adds thousands of dollars to one-tonne purchases. Whether those revisions happens on or before December 31 is unclear.

Utes are considered commercial models; that sector fell 26.7 percent to 2890 off an already depressed 2022 result. 

Regardless, the Ford Ranger was the top commercial model on 794 units. That return was well down on 1489 a year ago - but the industry acknowledges last year was exceptional for utes.

The MIA says a 6.7 percent fall in light passenger registrations occurred despite a spike in rental vehicle purchases; it estimates 3693 units - accounting for 36.7 percent of registrations - became hire cars in October.

The overall market leader was Toyota, which has just bought a hire car business, with 27.4 percent market share from 3543 registrations, followed by Ford  (10.8 percent, 1394 units) then Kia (8.7 percent, 1125 units). Toyota also led the light passenger activity, with 2683 units (and 26.7 percent market share), followed by Kia - which only has passenger models - and then Mitsubishi (987 units, 9.8 percent market share).