Mustang sales in NZ pale compared to AUS

[MrZ]

As many may be aware, over 26,000 Mustangs have been sold in Australia. Yet over the pond in NZ, only about 2,400 have sold. So while we have 5 times the population of NZ, we have nearly 11 times as many Mustangs. Your chances of seeing one here is more than double compared to NZ.

The interesting, thing, though is that grey imports are legal in NZ, and as such, there are a large number of previous generation (05-14) models over there. About 1,300 - which is huge! Here in Australia, my guess is there would only be about 200-300 of that generation Mustang in the whole country.

The Mustang is also more expensive in NZ, but not by a huge amount. Base model there is about 60k vs 50k here. So someone with the same money in NZ could afford one, they just might have to buy a 4-cyl instead of a V8. Wages are lower in NZ, but so is the cost of living.

Are there any other reasons people can think of though, that it might not have taken off over there in the same way as here?

Interestingly, I noticed that other sports cars fare even worse in NZ. For example, in Australia they've sold about 27,000 Toyota 86s and Subaru BRZs. In NZ - only 1,200! That's a factor of 22 to 1! We have nearly 5,000 Nissan 370Zs, they have about 200 (factor: 25:1). As such, I think sports cars in general in NZ are not popular. But why?

[CJR09]

You would be right - much more to choose from to spend your money on especially with the secong hand imports

I would say cashed up boomers and x'ers much more likely to have classic over modern, for the same money as a modern you can get killer classic examples

Many more import gm/mopar product than ford and its normally the wives with them - the dudes have the big 4wd's with the classics and boats as the toys

I would say there are more classics on the road driven daily/regularly here (nz) than AUS

JMHO

[GO FURTHER]

One of the big reasons, is the high cost of petrol in NZ and also the lack of 98 in many areas.

91 & 95 is readily available but not 98, (especially in the South Island) which many of these "sports" cars require to run at its best.

Running a V8 Mustang GT would not be cheap in NZ.

Current average price for 98 is AUD$2.17 ~ $2.43 (NZD$2.30 ~ $2.57)

[Adamz Ghia]

Cost of living isn’t cheaper over there, petrol is high, wages are lower, rents are high, house prices aren’t cheap either. We have quite a few kiwis at work who moved here to work for those reasons alone.

[Nu66et]

From memory, Falcon sales in NZ never tracked to match the population difference either.

[Nikked]

NZ has better access to grey imports too, so more variety.

Plus, kiwis seem to love Maseratis...could not believe how many i saw in Auckland when in was there.

[smoo]

Generally new car sales in NZ have been roughly 10% of that for Australia (around 100-110k v 1-1.2m sales).
So those Mustang figures aren’t too far off the Aussie numbers.

One could say Mustang does better in NZ considering the amount of used American stuff new & old that has flooded the market, as well as low mileage Euro and Jap Performance/sport grey imports that sell for a similar price as a new Mustang.

There is a popular car show called Americana held every year that has prevented new Mustangs from entering in it. The late model Dodge Challengers are also becoming common place in shows/cruises as well.

Every new Mustang I’ve seen in NZ is driven by a boomer at under the posted limit.

[MrZ]

Sorry, minor correction: there are 1600 previous gen 2005-2014 Mustangs in NZ. Almost as many as the current model!

2016 was the biggest year for Mustang in NZ - about 1,000 were sold, vs 6,200 here in Australia. Given the difference in population, this is exactly what you'd expect.

But in 2017, things got wierd. While over 9,000 were sold here in Australia, NZ sales fell to only 600! That's a 15x difference, compared with only 6x the year before.

Originally Posted by smoo

Generally new car sales in NZ have been roughly 10% of that for Australia (around 100-110k v 1-1.2m sales).
So those Mustang figures aren’t too far off the Aussie numbers.

Car sales in NZ have actually been 150k for the past few years. But then you've got another 100k+ grey imports on top of that.

Originally Posted by smoo

There is a popular car show called Americana held every year that has prevented new Mustangs from entering in it. The late model Dodge Challengers are also becoming common place in shows/cruises as well.

Wow, I'm actually surprised at how many Challengers there are! There are 600 current generation (2009+) Challengers in NZ! Incredible. Here in Australia there would be much less than 100, I reckon.

There are also 93 Dodge Chargers from 2005 onwards, whereas here in Australia I doubt there would be more than a couple.

Other US cars of interest in NZ:

70 Dodge Viper (all years)
926 Chevy Camaro (2009+)
700 C4 Corvette
400 C5 Corvette
250 C6 Corvette
120 C7 Corvette

[smoo]

Correct me if I’m wrong but I think that 150k figure you quote includes commercial vehicle sales.
Passenger vehicles is more around the 100,000 mark.

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by smoo

Correct me if I’m wrong but I think that 150k figure you quote includes commercial vehicle sales.
Passenger vehicles is more around the 100,000 mark.

Yes, but the 1.2M Australian sales figure also includes commercials.

[Bossxr8]

You can't put a sheep in a Mustang.

[raceteam]

Looks like they're buying the Tesla model 3 instead.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/116...in-new-zealand

[roddy1960]

Maybe they ought to run the Tara Moss ads in N.Z.

I love those ad's...Clever and classy..

[happy1]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

You can't put a sheep in a Mustang.

Probably true that it would be rather messy with 2-3 sheeps in your Mustang, but with one of these you could bring a about 20 of them:

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hit...16/C11405.html

Made by CURT company in US, rated for 2000 lbs. (approx. 1 ton?)

Cheers

[five 7]

Think it comes down to choices we can import and drive just about anything here thats left hook, start at Hellcats and work down (probably ten floating around my area) plus a lot of high end euro imports you can pick up cheap.
We looked at buying a new Mustang but there wasn't any thing that grabbed us, when we had choice of buying a GT350 no brainer in my book. Didn't help me knowing more about a Mustang than dealer trying to sell me a new one, sucks when they have no idea of product they are selling.. www.4guys.co.nz these guys have just about any late model american muscle car you dream of on the lot drive away.

[aussie muscle]

the other day i saw 3 mustangs in the same row of the car park. i'm considering not buying one because they are too common ?!?!?

Originally Posted by Nikked

NZ has better access to grey imports too, so more variety.

Australia really needs to relax the import restrictions, now that we don't have local production to protect...
Why protect foreign corporations like Mercedes?

[Vesper Martini]

Funny commend about the sheep, but thing is kiwis are not sheep.

They probably don't buy new mustang because everyone has one mentality..
It doesn't matter if the new mustang is nicer to drive or faster an older one is cooler.

I know a lot of Kiwis that spend their money on beach houses and not cars.
Sure there's plenty of Aussie's like that too, but on an average I think that's the way it is.

[Rambunctious]

Gee, and all along I thought the Mustang sales here were good because all the bloody kiwis are over here.

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Funny commend about the sheep, but thing is kiwis are not sheep.

They probably don't buy new mustang because everyone has one mentality..
It doesn't matter if the new mustang is nicer to drive or faster an older one is cooler.

I know a lot of Kiwis that spend their money on beach houses and not cars.
Sure there's plenty of Aussie's like that too, but on an average I think that's the way it is.

It's pretty much Holden territory too they would out weigh Falcons 3 to 1 I reckon and seam to be more into hotrod ?

Mustang started with a hiss and a roar the waiting list was over 500 but has flattened out a bit like the fgx there were quite a few on the rd but now you very rarely see one

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by PooDog

It's pretty much Holden territory too they would out weigh Falcons 3 to 1 I reckon and seam to be more into hotrod ?

Mustang started with a hiss and a roar the waiting list was over 500 but has flattened out a bit like the fgx there were quite a few on the rd but now you very rarely see one

That's really sad. They're everywhere here in Australia. In 2017 Australia was actually the 2nd biggest market in the world for the Mustang, even ahead of Canada.

[ford71V8]

Having just spent a few weeks over there, I now know who is buying all the ZB Commodores.....I saw plenty across both islands.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by ford71V8

Having just spent a few weeks over there, I now know who is buying all the ZB Commodores.....I saw plenty across both islands.

Say what you like about them they are great value for the money. an Ideal rental car

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Say what you like about them they are great value for the money. an Ideal rental car

Cause they slashed the absolute hell out of the RRP, and burnt all their buyers with about the worst depreciation on any new vehicle you can buy, as a thank you to anyone who purchased one brand new.

2nd owners would be grateful though, buying them for a fraction of their new price.

[GT0132]

I spent a lot of time over there last year when my mother was sick. Our family home is in Wellington in a cul de sac of around 15 houses. Two of those had Mustangs in the driveway and I probably saw two others on the road , but yeah they certainly aren't as popular there, and your stats support that.

As an ex Kiwi I can tell you that the cost of fuel would be a major consideration.

When I go over there I usually spend a week . Late model performance Fords have been quite rare since the 90's – bugger all FPV's, XR8's on the road

I spent a week in Auckland 2 years ago and surprised at the number of Euro cars on the road….high end cars too, not just 3 series beemers and C200 Mercs . When I was a kid living there in the 70's/80's a Euro was out of reach for 90% of the population.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by MrZ

As many may be aware, over 26,000 Mustangs have been sold in Australia. Yet over the pond in NZ, only about 2,400 have sold. So while we have 5 times the population of NZ, we have nearly 11 times as many Mustangs. Your chances of seeing one here is more than double compared to NZ.

The interesting, thing, though is that grey imports are legal in NZ, and as such, there are a large number of previous generation (05-14) models over there. About 1,300 - which is huge! Here in Australia, my guess is there would only be about 200-300 of that generation Mustang in the whole country.

The Mustang is also more expensive in NZ, but not by a huge amount. Base model there is about 60k vs 50k here. So someone with the same money in NZ could afford one, they just might have to buy a 4-cyl instead of a V8. Wages are lower in NZ, but so is the cost of living.

Are there any other reasons people can think of though, that it might not have taken off over there in the same way as here?

Interestingly, I noticed that other sports cars fare even worse in NZ. For example, in Australia they've sold about 27,000 Toyota 86s and Subaru BRZs. In NZ - only 1,200! That's a factor of 22 to 1! We have nearly 5,000 Nissan 370Zs, they have about 200 (factor: 25:1). As such, I think sports cars in general in NZ are not popular. But why?

The other reason why the Mustang and sports cars in general don't sell as well in New Zealand might be cultural trauma, after the Boys used a sports car to put an end to a nasty event where some aliens landed in a NZ fishing village and then ate the town's whole population:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IHwKJOZZ6U

[bangm001]

Originally Posted by MrZ

Sorry, minor correction: there are 1600 previous gen 2005-2014 Mustangs in NZ. Almost as many as the current model!

2016 was the biggest year for Mustang in NZ - about 1,000 were sold, vs 6,200 here in Australia. Given the difference in population, this is exactly what you'd expect.

But in 2017, things got wierd. While over 9,000 were sold here in Australia, NZ sales fell to only 600! That's a 15x difference, compared with only 6x the year before.



Car sales in NZ have actually been 150k for the past few years. But then you've got another 100k+ grey imports on top of that.



Wow, I'm actually surprised at how many Challengers there are! There are 600 current generation (2009+) Challengers in NZ! Incredible. Here in Australia there would be much less than 100, I reckon.

There are also 93 Dodge Chargers from 2005 onwards, whereas here in Australia I doubt there would be more than a couple.

Other US cars of interest in NZ:

70 Dodge Viper (all years)
926 Chevy Camaro (2009+)
700 C4 Corvette
400 C5 Corvette
250 C6 Corvette
120 C7 Corvette

70 Vipers in NZ, how many is AUS?