New passenger car registrations reached 8,736 in July, up 14.8% year on year — an increase of 1,124 units on the same month last year. Overall new light vehicle registrations reached 11,254 units for the month, up 1.2%.
Much of the passenger growth came from Chinese brands. BYD, GWM, MG, Chery and Zeekr all featured in the top 15 passenger makes for July, with BYD up 143% to 622 units, Chery up 206% to 309, and new entrant Zeekr recording 153 registrations in its first appearance on the list.
MTA Chief Executive Lee Marshall says price remains the key drawcard. “Many of the Chinese vehicles have one strong appeal to consumers — price. They continue to be attractive to drivers on a budget and represent great value on paper. Flip that on its head and legacy brands continue to decline in overall market share,” Marshall says.
“The exact shape of the vehicle market in a couple of years’ time is anyone’s guess. However, from the trends that we’re seeing develop today, we can be certain it will contain a lot less from legacy brands, a lot more Chinese brands, and a lot more electrified vehicles.”
Toyota and the RAV4 hold firm
Despite the Chinese surge, Toyota dominated the passenger market with 1,681 registrations, more than double second-placed Kia’s 707. The RAV4 topped the passenger model chart with 699 registrations, almost 300 ahead of the second-placed Tesla Model Y on 403.
Plug-in vehicles and an ageing used fleet
Vehicles with a plug averaged 25% of buyer purchases since March, and hybrids made up more than half of rental and government purchases. Marshall links the trend partly to fuel costs. “The US-Iran conflict and related fuel cost spirals have no doubt contributed to recent trends, with electrified models now representing the majority of registrations in every buyer segment apart from companies,” he says.
The split varies sharply by buyer type. Individual buyers were the most electrified group, with EVs making up 25.8% of their purchases and plug-in hybrids a further 16.9%; rental fleets leaned heavily on conventional hybrids at 59.5% of registrations; and government purchases were 67.8% electrified once EVs, plug-ins and hybrids are combined. Company buyers remained the most diesel-dependent segment, at 30% of purchases, against 9% for individual buyers.
Meanwhile, the average age of second-hand passenger imports continues to climb, now around 10 years, up from 9.3 years five years ago, as dealers import older vehicles to hold down price points.
Commercial registrations soften
Light commercial registrations fell 28.1% year on year to 2,518 units. The Ford Ranger remained the country’s top-selling light commercial vehicle with 738 registrations, ahead of the Toyota Hilux on 608 and the Mitsubishi Triton, up 21% to 335.
Full monthly and historical data is available through MTA’s vStat platform.
