Car Torque: New car sales continue cimb - The National Business Review (subscription)
New vehicle sales continued to grow in February, with sales up 8% over the same period last year – and the strongest since 1984. It was the strongest February for passenger vehicles since 1989 and the highest sales month for commercials ever... The Toyota Corolla was the top-selling passenger car (302 registrations), followed by the Mazda CX-5 (210) and Mazda3 (206). However, the Hilux light-commercial was the top-selling vehicle of any kind, clocking up 427 registrations. Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) remain the dominant vehicle type, accounting for 32% of all sales. Next are pickup trucks (20%) and small passenger cars (15%). Year to date, overall sales are up 10% on 2014. Drive electric relaunch. The New Zealand organisation formerly known as the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (APEV) has been rebranded and relaunched as Drive Electric. The chairman of Drive Electric is former BMW New Zealand managing director Mark Gilbert, who says that a key part of the group’s new strategy is to get more significant industry players together to bring EVs into the mainstream. “The mandate of Drive Electric is to deliver our members and stakeholders consistent, influential and financially sustainable advocacy for the accelerated, orderly uptake of EVs in New Zealand,” Mr Gilbert says. Source: www.nbr.co.nz
