Are Kiwi buyers spending more on new cars than ever before?
It's common knowledge now that 2020 was one of the worst years in the automotive industry due to Covid-19 restrictions basically stopping the sale of new cars altogether. But with brands such as Mitsubishi, Subaru and Volvo now reporting the biggest months for new vehicle sales of all time, it seems that there has been a massive bounce back. READ MORE: We're buying cars like it's 1985: Mitsubishi NZ sales hit all-time record for June  New data from Stats NZ shows that this is the case, as Kiwi buyers have started to shell out more on new cars as national spending in the automotive sector has increased. Stats NZ reports that national spending on cars increased by around 4.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the first, with around $29 million extra being spent. On top of this, data also shows that Kiwi buyers are using their cars with spending on fuel increasing by 3.9 per cent or $61 million for the same time period. Though these numbers might seem amazing for our automotive industry, it's worth noting that a lot of local deliveries are restricted by international supply. This means that brands are able to fulfill orders and register large quantities of vehicles all at once as shipments come into the country. But still, the numbers don't lie, and even just last month saw 15,305 new vehicles come into the country, up from the 11,516 that were registered in June last year.