POPULARITY OF MOTORS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19232, 22 January 1926, Page 10

POPULARITY OF MOTORS.

STEADY INCREASE IN " SALES. AUCKLAND'S LARGE Q.UOTA. OVER FIFTY CARS A WEEK. FIGURES FOR THE DOMINION. New motor-cars are selling in Auckland at the rate of oyer 50 a week. Although statistics covering tho last month are, not available it is considered that the figures will establish a record and reveal sales averaging quite 10 cars a day.

Dealers aro all experiencing a very brisk demand, and not a few have customers waiting for deliveries. In anticipation of heavy sales for December and January many agents had booked large stocks. In some cases they have not sufficient cars left- for their showroom displays. It -is not anticipated that the present record sales will continue for many weeks, since the potential car purchaser usually makes up his mind early in the summer in order to obtain the benefits of fine-weather motoring for several months. Records of car sales in Auckland since April, 1925, reveal that there has been a steady increase each month. In April last 137 cars were sold in Auckland City. The sales ior October totalled 228, an in-

crease of nearly 70 per cent, in six months. Public taste in cars is by no means fickle, and it takes some time to popularise a new make. Fifteen Per Cent. British, It is interesting to observe the class of car favoured by Auckland motorists. There were 224 cars sold in Auckland City last

November. Tho provincial sales were 524, and tho Dominion total for November was 1734 ears. The 224 cars sold in Auckland were represented by 25 different makes. Of the total 34 cars, or over 15 per cent.., were of British origin. American cars were represented by 83 per cent., and there were 2 per cent, of Continental makes. There is no doubt that the British car is increasing in popularity. Details of the cars delivered at the end of last year suggest that they are sold in numbers roughly proportionate to their prices. Cheap cars all sell well. There were no less than 34 cars of one popular American make sold in Auckland in November. Tho next favoured make' had 22 sales. Seventy-nine of the 224 for the month' were cars priced at; under £250. Light " sixes " in the price class between £3OO and £4OO were shown to bo in fair demand, a total of 34 cars of this description being delivered. The more expensive " sixes " were represented by eight different makes, and in the price class from £4OO to £6OO, there were 33 six-cylinder cars. Moderato-priced British cars were in very promising request and ten of one make selling below £450 were sold in November last. The next British car had nine sales for tho month,' and third place in British cars went to a four-cylinder car with seven deliveries. Busy Year Anticipated. The majority of car agents are counting on a busy year for 1926, and there is no suggestion that the saturation point is nearly reached. Importers of' cheap American "fours" and "sixes" are taking orders daily, and more'/than a dozen makes of cars are selling at the rate of one a,week or more. _ • , The importer of a light British car stated yesterday that he had contracted for 300 cars for 1926. His sales for • 1925 aggregated about 250. Four or five', cars are selling in New Zealand at the rate of over 100 a month. In November the Dominion sales of two American car 3 totalled 224 and 204 respectively. Eighty-six examples of a British four-cylinder car were also sold in this month. In July, 1925, one car aggregated 362 * sales, and a competitor had 177 sales. The Monthly Sales. The sales of motor-cars in Auckland City for the dight months ended November 30, 1925, were as follow-.—April, 137; May, 151; June, 153; July, 171; August, 198; September, 180; October, 228; and November, 224. The following table shows the totals for the Dominion with, tho number of British cars included: — Total. British Cara. ' April w 'i. 1,396 ' 185 May ' w 1.567 171 June .. 1,342 91 July w : ui 1,404 147 August .«i 1,263 146 September ,■ w 1,336 117 October „ 1,547 169 November v ' v- 1,734 2-4