Below we have the usual colour coded chart showing the best selling passenger car models and which region they are associated with. There is no surprise that French brands and those owned by them are doing well. In addition, both the Yaris and Yaris Cross are also made in France.
There were 43,300 passenger car registrations, which were up 6% for the year. The first four months were down substantially, but the next eight more than compensated.
For an open market without any import duty, to have two brand taking 44% of the total registrations is exceptional. Nearly one in four cars in 2025 were BYD models and for Tesla just over one in five. BYD's market share is up 58% and Tesla's down 10%.
Zeekr, GAC Aion and Xpeng only arrived during 2024 but already are third to fifth! That sort of upheaval is unheard of. Toyota lost 39% of its share and that is something you won't see very often.
Have the premium marques been spared the influx of the Chinese equivalents? BMW and Lexus have both lost half of their market share, Mercedes-Benz has lost 64% and Audi was down a huge 83%.
There has to be a reason for this to be so pronounced. Hong Kong is offering incentives for electric cars (BEVs). Chinese brands are well placed to take advantage of that, hence a major reason for the surge we are seeing from them.
Above the photographs are of the Denza 09, and below is the Deepal S07, which has just arrived during the year.
Data source: HK Transport Department.
New Zealand has an open car market so any brand can set up shop here. Chinese brands have been arriving, with local car magazine NZ Autocar having many articles about all these new models that are coming in. This article here covers passenger cars only - not light commercial vehicles - and that would have added a few more brands.
Apart from a few brand names, they are unfamiliar sounding. That doesn't appear to be an issue for some punters. One thing they offer is value for money and that will be enough for them to take the plunge. Long warranties help too.
Others with a more cautious approach will stick to the brands they already know and trust. I am of this persuasion. It's a lot of money to take any risk on but time can allay that fear.
The chart shows what the current situation is. Those listed come to 12,800 registrations and 17.5% of the total sales YTD. The 'Rk' number is where they are on the chart with all brands included.
The top ranked brand is MG, which started selling in reasonable numbers back in 2019 and is currently sitting in 7th place. Its sales are up 35% on 2024.
Haval's break out year was 2018 and it holds 10th spot with a 24% sales gain and 2.8% market share. Ora arrived in 2023 but the rest were either 2024 or this year, 'n/a' shows the 2025 arrivals.
For now, it seems that Chinese brands will not be knocking off the top brands. They will take some sales from them, but will also take many sales from each other. Dealerships selling these new brands will spread further across the country, an important part of maximising sales, improving brand visibility and a more comprehensive customer support network. All that helps a brand's image.
Several more brands will soon be here, creating a congested market place for what is overall a modestly sized market. Some suggest there will be casualties, be that the new Chinese brands or some existing ones.
Who survives would depend largely on whether importers can make a profit and feel the effort is worth it. What is certain is that Kiwis are spoiled for choice when contemplating buying a new car.
Data source: NZTA. Photo source: BYD (Sealion 6) top & Chery (Tiggo 8) below.
There has been an upsurge of cars made in China coming to Australia with one is five from there in 2025. Even a couple of years ago, that would have seemed far fetched. Now, no one would doubt that it will continue to grow.
Vinfast has delivered 197,000 cars for the year, up 102%. The company makes other forms of transport. The e-scooter and e-bike sales were 406,498 (+473%). For those who don't want or cannot afford a car, they have options.
As an aside, e-scooter and e-bike deliveries will have benefitted from the announced plan to ban petrol powered motorbikes in the Hanoi city center starting in mid-2026.
It is backed by Vingroup, which gives Vinfast the ability to continue even in the loss making situation it currently sits in. Obviously it needs to remedy this as soon as possible. Expansion is expensive so the financial situation is not totally unexpected. Maybe they could slow that down.
The VF 5 city car (photo left) came out in 2023. It was initially known as the VF e32.
It was then joined by the L8 (Li8 photo above) and L9 large SUVs in 2022. The Li8 looks like an MPV but the L8 sibling at least looks like an SUV. The Li8 model has these swooping lines but is an SUV too.
The L6 SUV (and Li6 MPV lookalike) was introduced in 2024 and sales reached nearly 200,000 by year's end (pic below). The flagship Mega MPV also came along the same year and it lives up to its name.
Like many Chinese car manufacturers, the latter part of 2025 saw a decline in sales. The overall year was up with a strong start but that wasn't sustained through the year. Li Auto wasn't spared at all.
2026 is expected to be flat so pushing export sales will become a priority as car makers try to keep factories operating as close to capacity as possible.
Li Auto has focused almost exclusively on the domestic market but a shift in that policy is now taking place. The Middle East is an expected priority.
The company is aiming for 550,000 deliveries in 2026 which seems optimistic. The company is reevaluating its product strategy so who knows how effective that will be.
Data & picture source: Li Auto.
Deliveries came to 587,000, down 3%. BEVs contribution was 115,200 units and a 63% increase.
The Sportage is by far the most popular model. The 174,000 registrations represents 30% of the total. The new EV3 has proved popular, the main BEV for kia in Europe.
I used to write about Venezuela, sales by brand and sales by model data provided by Cavanez. Local assembly collapsed and car sales all but dried up. Then things have recently taken a turn for the better. Reports in the media indicated the industry was returning and local assembly was growing.
In 2022, 8,300 vehicles were sold, dropping to 7,313 the following year. In 2024, a jump to 17,558 units. For 2023, just 72 vehicles were assembled and then in 2024 4,384 units. This was still tiny compared to the boom times. Back in 2007, nearly half a million vehicles were delivered in what has always been a volatile market.
Still, huge pent up demand is finally being addressed. In a country where a used car can cost more than a new one, any respite would be most welcome.
To the right is a chart of sales that have been released to the public.
Chinese brand JAC is doing really well, with vehicles hitting the road in numbers.
Toyota was top in 2024, but despite an 80% increase, it yielded its top spot. Changan retained its third place.
I usually do market share variance but in this instance the extreme right column (Inc +/-) is sales variance. In this case all going up.
As to how the current political situation will affect vehicle sales going forward is uncertain. The demand is there but there are many other factors that need to align in order to push sales forward.
Data Cavanez. Photos JAC Venezuela (Arena & Adventura).
Toyota brand deliveries were up 1.3% in 2025. In many of the smaller markets they are the top selling brand. Reliability, resale value and leading hybrid technology all count in Toyota's favour.
They also want to promote a sporty image and the arrival of the GR Corolla in Europe for 2026 should help that cause. They already have a strong rally racing reputation.
The Qashqai and Juke models do the heavy lifting and combined accounted for 73% of sales.
The Leaf will be returning in 2026 and that will help things along. It slots nicely under the larger Ariya.
Nissan plans to have virtually all of its sales in the region for either electric or hybrid vehicles by the end of 2026.
Data & photo source: Nissan.
The medium sized Tucson SUV is the leading model, followed by the compact Kona crossover. The i10and i20 Hatchbacks round out the main sellers. Combined, they make up three quarters of the total.
The micro Inster raised hatch is an interesting addition to the range. It was originally released in late 2021 and now has made it here.
Data & photo source: Hyundai.
