Utes are leading the way in new vehicle sales at the mid-way point of the year, taking four of the top five spots in new vehicle registrations for 2017 so far. 

The Motor Industry Association reveals that, as of the end of June, the Ford Ranger is retaining its 2016 end of year ranking as the top selling new model in New Zealand, shifting 4976 utes which is up 24% on the previous year. Likewise, the Toyota Hilux has experienced similar growth and is still the country’s second most popular new vehicle. 

Also holding its 2016 position as the top selling passenger vehicle is the Toyota Corolla, up 12%, although the Holden Colorado has pushed it from third to fourth place, with new registrations of the commercial vehicle leaping 34% year on year. Rounding up the Top 5 is yet another commercial vehicle – the Mitsubishi Triton – with 2130 new vehicles registered so far this year. 

Toyota won’t be too disappointed though as it’s leading the combined sales charge thanks to five of the Japanese manufacturer’s models appearing in the top 15 list, which are all 5 star ANCAP-rated vehicles.

Registrations of the top 15 selling commercial vehicles are up 23% during the same period, while the top 15 selling passenger vehicles have seen a combined growth of 13% compared with last year.

And how about that insatiable appetite for an SUV? Well, of the eight passenger vehicles featured in our table below, six are SUVs so it’s fair to say that they’re more popular than ever.

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