Argentina Car/LCV Sales: 2026 (Jan-Aug)

Registrations were down 19% in August and down 13% YTD. Toyota has led since 2021, when it took over from VW. They both have taken a hit in their market share as has Renault and Jeep. 

Import duty on fully built up vehicle has given local manufacturers protection. It's complicated. Vehicles imported from MERCOSUR  nations (Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia) are tariff free. Mexico (quota-based) and Ecuador have reduced or zero tariffs on light vehicles. 

Up to 50,000 units of electric and hybrid vehicles can be imported tariff free annually. This especially benefits vehicles from China but how the 50k limit is applied if reached I'm unsure. It could explain why the top brands have reduced market share. 

Data source: ACARA. Photo: VW (Amarok).

Hong Kong P Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-Aug)

Registrations were down 30% in August but up 53% YTD. A strong start to 2026 (+143% by April) was helped by a poor start to 2025. Then EV purchase subsidies were cut back, leading to a slump from June onward. This has apparently squeezed profit margins too. By the end of the year, the large increase on 2025 with have been eroded. How much we will have to see.

Toyota was the best selling brand here for some time, with 2019 being the last year it was ranked #1. With electric cars now being so popular and Chinese brands aggressively active in this, a special administrative region of China, a comeback seems unlikely.  

Tesla and BYD are in a war for top spot, yet both suffering sharp market share falls. Audi didn't sell any cars in August and Hyundai has now missed two consecutive months. VW hasn't sold a car here since October last year. It's become a very disrupted market place for car importers.   

Looking at the top brands in more detail.

Tesla: Y (3,797) and 3 (2,587) are the two models sold here.
BYD: Sealion 7 (2,474) and the Atto 2 (2,178) make up 74% of the total.
GAC Aion: UT (1,227), ES (889) and V (674) lead the way.
Zeekr: 7X (2,371) and 009 (737) account for 98% of sales.
Toyota: bZ3X (1,397) did 63% of the registrations on its own.

Data source: HK Transport Department. 

Picture source: Zeekr (X) and GAC Aion (ES) Hong Kong.

NZ Passenger Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-July)

Registrations for PCs were up 15% in August and 15%YTD. Toyota has had a slow start, as it often does and while it had a good August, it still lags behind 2025. It holds 18.5% market share but that is down from 22.9% on a full 2025. 

Mitsubishi is in the same boat as Toyota, only a bit worse. BYD has raced into the top ten, with Haval and MG are there too and Chery closing in quickly on that achievement. The Haval H6 is above, right. The Chery Tiggo 4 below.

Japanese sourced passenger cars have reached 38% and Chinese 29% penetration 2026 YTD. EVs are up to 17% and hybrid cars (all types) 46%. 

Data source: NZTA.