Businesses' spending spree continues with most new commercial vehicles sold in an August since 1984

It was the hottest August for new commercial motor vehicle sales in nearly 30 years in further signs of the Christchurch rebuild-led economic recovery.

Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford said it has been a "remarkable year" for new vehicle sales.

The 2602 new commercial vehicles registered last month was the most for an August since 1984, continuing a strong run for sales this year.

The total of new commercial vehicles registered in the eight months to August is 19,988, up some 24.4% on the total at the same time a year ago. New commercial registrations for the year to date have already topped the figures for the whole of the 2009 and 2010 years.

Passenger vehicle sales are also running hot, with registrations of new vehicles last month the highest tally since 2005 and second-highest since 1987.

There were 6828 registrations of passenger vehicles for the month of August, a 14.5% increase over August 2012.

New passenger vehicle registrations are up 6.1% on this time in 2012, while taken together, passenger and commercial vehicle registrations  (73,279) are up overall 10.7% on the 66,200 figure at the same time in 2012.

"The new car sector continues to perform at levels last seen in the 1980s," Crawford said.

For the month of August Toyota remained the market leader with 17.8% market share, or 1683 registrations (1080 passenger cars and 603 commercials). Holden was second with 11.3% market share (1067 registrations), closely followed by Ford on 11.0% (1041 registrations).

Year to date Toyota remains the market leader with 19.3% market share (14,176 registrations). Ford was second with 10.9% market share (7961 registrations) followed by Holden with 10.2% market share (7506 registrations).

The top selling car model for the month of August remained the Toyota Corolla with 328 registrations. The Holden Cruze was second with 271 registrations followed by the Holden Commodore in third with 247 registrations.

In the commercial segment the Ford Ranger was again the top selling model with 392 registrations, followed by the Toyota Hilux (376 registrations) and Nissan Navara (290 registrations).

For the month of August the SUV segment was the most popular with 24% of total registrations reflecting the dominant position year to date with 27% of all registrations. The small passenger vehicle segment regained second spot with 21% of sales followed by the Pick Up/Chassis Cab segment with 19% of registrations.