Imported cars lined up at the Port of Auckland. PHOTO: JASON OXENHAM.
The December quarter remained tough for New Zealand’s used vehicle market as import levels collapsed — ex-overseas used vehicle transactions were down 33% year-on-year.
Outside of imports, vehicle transaction levels have started to recover and the public-to-public segment continued to take the largest share, a research note from Forsyth Barr last week said.
Those factors impacted heavily on 2 Cheap Cars Group and the Colonial Motor Company’s recent updates. Given its targeted markets, Turners Automotive had so far remained more resilient to broader industry weakness, supported by market share gains and its diversified businesses.
Recent data from Forsyth Barr’s Turners Automotive sales tracker suggested vehicle market pricing and likely margins were recovering. It retained its $51.6 million profit before tax estimate, which represented a 5% increase on FY24, but considered that somewhat conservative given the range of likely outcomes on margin recovery.
— APL
