NZ China Brand Sales: 2025-2026 (H1)

Many cars coming to NZ originate in China, 15,289 or 29.7% to be precise. That's up 109% on 2025. China now rivals Japan as a source for cars. 

Not all of these make the chart to the right. The brand had to be Chinese owned (at least 50/50) and made there. 

In six months, 12,798 passenger cars have been sold. That excludes vehicles classed as commercial, such as pick up trucks, delivery vans and lorry type trucks. 

At 24.9%, a quarter of the car market is covered here, up from 12.6% for the first six months of last year. Sales volume is up 127%.  

MG is still top but as its increase is just 32%, BYD at +169% will surely pass MG before the year's end. GWM's Haval is third with a 46% increase. GWM also does Tank and Ora. 

The n/a is because the brand is new to NZ in 2026 or that the increase exceeded 1000%. Jetour is another brand expected to arrive in 2026. 

Data source: NZTA. Photo sources: MG NZ (ZS) and Dongfeng NZ (Box).

USA Electric Vehicle Sales: 2023-2026 (H1)

Some people love them, others dismiss them, while some even dislike them. The electric car. Wherever you sit on the spectrum, they are here to varying degrees depending on where you live. 

The US is a very large car market so are electric cars having much impact there? Federal Electric Vehicle purchase incentives were put in place to entice buyers. Did it work?

2023: US EV sales reached just over 1.2 million, up 46.3%. Tesla contributed 54% of the total. The future looked electric even though at this point they accounted for about 7.5% of all sales.

2024: The total crept up to 1.3 million, up 7.3%. Tesla was the major brand with nearly 50% of the total. Were there signs that a ceiling was being reached?

2025: The national $7,500 new EV and $4,000 used EV incentives ended on September 30, 2025. It left buyers primarily relying on individual state rebates. Coming late in the year, it didn't have a huge impact but a 2% drop in the total showed it did have an effect. 

2026: Half way through the year and with numbers down 23%, it would seem that a lowering of incentives has impacted. Fossil fuel prices are up so will some switch to EVs as a result? Early indicators suggest not too many as yet. 

So EVs still need incentives to encourage some to join the movement. They also aren't practical for many either so even incentives won't sway a sizable number anyway. They are here to stay but in places where incentives don't exist or are limited, they remain an unlikely purchase. 

Data source: Cox Automotive. Photos: Tesla 3, Rivian R2.

Brazil PC/LCV Sales : 2026 (Jan-Jun)

Registrations were up 28% in June and 20% YTD. That's quite an increase considering the size of the numbers involved. Various sources need to be accessed to put the list below and none quite match the each other. 

Legacy brands are feeling the heat from a wave of Chinese entrants. Most have lost share while most Chinese brands ahve gained ground. To be a large player, there needs to be local assembly to avoid tariffs and they are doing just that. 

Fiat is still top, ahead of Volkswagen and GM. VW easily sold more cars than Fiat, but the latter is very dominant in LCVs so is top overall. As this data includes light commercial vehicles, that lessens the impact of what legacy brands are losing. They still have a strong presence in that area. 

Data sources: Mainly Anfavea, Fenebrave. 
Photo source: Fiat Brazil (Fastback) & VW Brazil (Tiguan).