New cars sales continue record acceleration in New Zealand

Sales of new cars in New Zealand last month hit an all-time record for the fifth straight month, the New Zealand Motor Industry Association (MIA) announced Tuesday. Total new vehicle sales in February were 9,058, an increase of 1,111 vehicles (14 percent) over the same month last year, according to the MIA. New commercial vehicle sales were 2,567, up by 19.2 percent from February 2013, the highest February sales since the MIA began collecting records in 1981. New passenger car sales also recorded a strong month with 6,491 sales, the best February since 1989. "New vehicle registrations for February 2014 remain strong with another record month for sales of commercial vehicles. It was the fifth month in a row where the monthly registrations year on year have been the highest since the MIA began collecting records," MIA chief executive officer David Crawford said in a statement. Toyota was the overall market leader last month with a 15- percent market share, with Holden second with 10.5 percent and Ford third 9.9 percent.