NZ new car registrations up in September - NZTA

WELLINGTON Oct 6 (Reuters) - New Zealand new car registrations rose 26.6 percent to 5,593 in September compared to the previous month, but were 16.2 percent lower than September 2008, the New Zealand Transport Agency said on Tuesday.

Used car registrations -- generally imported used cars -- totalled 5,919 last month, up 0.8 percent from August but 17.3 percent below September a year ago, the government agency said in a statement.

New commercial vehicle registrations during the month were 1,371 up 33 percent from a month earlier, and down 21 percent on September 2008.

The top selling make in September was Toyota (7203.T) with 1,504 new cars, followed by Ford (F.N) with 642 new cars.