New and used car sales stay low in December (updated)

New vehicle sales in New Zealand rose in December from November, but were down 6.1% from the month of December 2007, figures released by the New Zealand Transport Agency show. Used car sales were also up on November numbers but fell 34% from a year ago. (Updated to include next paragraph.) New car sales recorded their fourth lowest monthly figures since April 2004, while commercial car sales - such as vans and trucks - recorded their lowest figures since April 2006. There were 5,224 new car registrations in December 2008, compared to 4,898 in November and 5,563 in December 2007. Figures for used cars showed 6,323 sales compared to 5,923 in November and 9,566 in December 2007. There was a fall in the sale of commercial vehicles to 1,597 from 1,639 in November and from 1,701 in December 2007. Toyotas remained the preferred choice for New Zealand buyers, with 3,155 new and used models (about half of sales each) bought over December. Mazdas were the second-most bought with 1,288 sales, 895 of which were used car sales. In the 12 months to December 2008, there were 97,010 new vehicle sales in New Zealand, down 5.2% from the year to December 2007.