The new generation Suzuki Swift has roared into the number one sales spot on its first sales month in New Zealand.
Launched on February 5, the latest Suzuki emulated the top selling position of its predecessor by being the most favoured new car choice among local buyers.
Not only was the Swift the best selling car in New Zealand in February but it also beat all other models by a comfortable margin.
“New car buyers - particularly private motorists - have voted with their wallets,” said Tom Peck, General Manager of Marketing for Suzuki New Zealand.
“Consumers have realised the extremely good value package presented by the new Swift with its better economy and the fact that it is recognised by Euro NCAP testing as one of the safest cars in the world,” he said.
“This is in addition to the fact that New Zealanders love the look of the car and appreciate its fine driving manners,” said Tom Peck.
“The latest industry figures reflect the true buying preferences,” he said. “Often the sales figures are distorted by hundreds of units going into big fleets or corporate sales.
“Swift has been the number one selling car to private buyers in New Zealand since 2008 and for the last six years has been the nation’s favourite small car,” said Mr Peck.
“We are delighted with the early sales performance of the new model which is more than living up to the reputation of the highly successful out-going version.”
A total of 351 new Swifts went onto local roads in February, according to official figures from the Motor Trade Association. The next best sellers were the Hyundai i30 (310), Toyota Corolla (212) and Holden Commodore (191).
The local sales achievement came within days of Suzuki Motor Corporation announcing the two million sales milestone had been reached by the Swift, six years and three months after the introduction of the model.
Suzuki unveiled the previous generation Swift as its first world strategic model in late 2004, and it went on sale in New Zealand early in 2005.
Initially produced in Japan, the model is now also made in Hungary, India and China, and sold in 124 countries. New Zealand sources its Swifts from Japan.
Swift became the fastest-ever Suzuki car to reach one million units just three years and eight months after its introduction.
The car’s international popularity is reflected by the fact that about 15 per cent of the two million Swifts sold were in Japan, 39 per cent in India and around 27 per cent in Europe.
More than 65,000 Swifts have been sold in Australia where the model has a 90 per cent population awareness - remarkable given the number of different cars on sale today.
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