NZ Lower Volume Brands (Mainstream - China) : 2026 (Jan-Apr)

The brands here are basically the budget end of the market pricewise. They offer plenty of bang for your buck. Most are new but not all.

LDV arrived in 2016 but have mainly been selling in the LCV market, so haven't done much with passenger cars. 

Omoda and Jaecoo have been just under three years, Chery and Leapmotor two, Dongfeng one and a bit and Forthing their first.

At the price poin they operate at, they must want to be doing better than this and they may achieve that. 

Data source: NZTA. Photos: Cherry (Tiggo 4) & Dongfeng (Box).

NZ Low Volume Brands (Semi-Premium - China) : 2026 (Jan-Apr)

Here are the model sales for some of the smaller Chinese brands in NZ. They will have dealers in major centres but national coverage isn't there. They aspire to be above the maintream brands. That is why MG's IM is here as it is a notch up on its parent brand. 

All these brands are new or nearly new to NZ. Tank is in its third full year and Geely its second. All the others are in their first full, with Zeekr a partial 2025. So early days but pushing on from here will be their expectation.  

Data source: NZTA.

Photos: GWM Tank (300) & Geely (Starray).

NZ Luxury Car Sales : 2025-26 (Jan-Apr)

The small marques in a car market can be overlooked due to their diminutive sales. However, in monetary terms, a lot is tied up in a relatively few vehicles. For a small country, 53 luxury car registrations in just four months isn't too bad a tally. 

The top sellling model were the Bentley Continental and Lamborghini Urus, each with eight. The 12Cylindri and DBX come close with seven.

Data source: NZTA.

Photos: Aston Martin (DBX) & Ferrari (Amalfi).