Croatia Passenger Car Sales: 2026 (Jan-Apr)

Registrations were down 6% in April but up 5% YTD. Škoda is in its fourth year at the top, having dethroned VW. Renault was at the top in 2003 and while it's along way form regaining that position, at least it's having success in 2026. 

So too are Chinese brands, somewhat late to the party but starting to arrive in numbers. With poor sales at home, targeting exports is a way to keep factories gainfully employed. 

Photo; Renault.

Maserati 2012-2025

2019 Maserati Ghibli (Netcarshow)

I had detailed production figures (blue background) for Maserati from way back until 2020 when the source dried up. Since then, delivery figures (pink background) are used.  I pick up the story from 2012, when things took off.

In 2012, Maserati had just the Quattroporte and Gran Turismo/Cabrio models. The sixth Quattroporte arrived in 2013 along with the Ghibli executive car with production now taking place at the Fiat Mirafiori factory. These two new models gave the marque a huge spike in production numbers.

2016 had another lift in volume with the introduction of the Levante SUV.  Things then tapered off into the pandemic of 2020. There was a  rebound in 2021 which lasted three years. 

With the recent withdrawal of the Levante and Ghibli models, delivery numbers slumped. The small Grecale SUV was introduced along with the reintroduced Gran Turismo. 

The Grecale was supposed to offset the above departures but it has fallen well short of what it was supposed to achieve. So where to next?

The marque is apparently being repositioned as a luxury, bespoke build to order manufacture. Electric will also be the direction taken. I see similarities with Jaguar. 

The Maserati brothers founded the company in 1914, but they didn't make cars. Car manufacturing only starting in 1947. The four subsequent owners have had varied results. It will be interesting to see if it can make a go of the top end luxury market. 

2023 Maserati Grecale (Netcarshow)

Proton Global Deliveries : 2024-2026 (Q1)

Proton has always relied on its protected domestic market. Things got tough when local rival Perodua took much of that away from them. Proton is fighting back with Geely taking a 49.9% stake in the brand in 2017.

Using Geely technology and starting to take an interest in exports, Proton is looking up. Q1 2026 is up 40% despite the Malaysian market being down 3%. It took 26% of the total market, the highest since 2011. 

Picture source: Proton.

Panamá Car/LCV Sales: 2026 (Jan-Apr)

Panamá has many brands, a trend that is happening in many countries. The arrival of Chinese ones is the reason. Toyota is still the choice for nearly one in five buyers, Hyundai and Kia one in eight. Yet there must be some loss of sales, perhaps spread evenly across all the legacy brands. 

The 212 is a rugged off road jeep style vehicle made by BAW. As the picture shows, it's ideal in jungle and that covers a large part of the country. Rox is another Chinese brand, which makes premium electric SUV's. As seen below, not so much for conquering jungle as glamping. 

Rolls Royce Global Deliveries : 2025-2026 (Q1)

It's hard to read too much into luxury car deliveries. it's a unique market. True, volume has dropped 8% in Q1 but even in this rarified air, there are going to be ebbs and flows. 

In China for example, the internal economy is not too robust, which has led to decrease in demand there. 

Despite such things, customers are increasingly using bespoke services, which boosts margins. Suffice to say business is doing well. 

Like MINI, no regional or model breakdown are available for the marque. 

Data & photos: BMW Group. (Ghost Ext & Phantom).

MINI Brand Global Deliveries : 2025-2026 (Q1)

BMW's MINI was up 18% in 2025 and up 6% 2026 YTD. That now means the last five quarters have been increases, something not easily achieved. . 

After a few years of reduced volume, some colour is returning the MINI's cheeks so to speak. In other words, looking more healthy. 

There is no breakdown by region provided by the BMW Group, nor by model, meaning and deep dive to know more  is not possible. 

Data & photos: BMW Group. 

BMW Brand Global Deliveries : 2025-2026 (Q1)

After mananging a very smsall 1% decrease last year, Q1 2026 is down 6%. BMW is expecting 2026 deliveries to match last years and that is quite possible. China remains challenging and I would assume the most difficult region to predict. 

Data & photo source: BMW Group.

Regions: This data includes MINI, so that reduces the decrease to -3.5%. Europe is holding up well but elsewhere is consistently down. China is still an important market but is steadily shrinking.

Luxembourg Passenger Car Sales: 2026 (Jan-Apr)

Registrations were up 3% in 2026. Things tend to be very stable here, unruffled even. It's financial sector accounts for nearly a third of GDP, although they does want to diversify the economy.  

German brands hold the top four places here. Then one could also add German owned Škoda to take all five leading brands. Chinese brands are yet to have much impact, although the ever growing 'Other' figure - which isn't revealed to us - could contain many brands from that source.

Data source: Statistiques Luxembourg. 

Austria Passenger Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-Apr)

Registrations were up 17% for the first quarter. The figures includes preliminary April data so that may slightly affect that. VW as always is on top with 14.5% share. I've noticed Dacia is reducing its volume and it is so consistent, it must be a policy. Is it shifting away from value pricing?

Chinese brands are arriving although only BYD has has had a major impact so far. Legacy brands will be feeling uneasy. 

Data source: Statistik Austria. 

Norway Top 30 Passenger Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-Apr)

Norway hasn't been big on this site but a Top 30 just makes the cut. The share data below compares four months of 2025 with 2026. It's quite tumultuous for a sizable market. It's also uniquely electric, with the highest penetration of such vehicles in the world. 

Tesla is the best selling brand, ahead of Toyota and a fast falling Volkswagen. Chinese brands specialise in EVs and are making a mark although you would have to think they have plenty of desire to gain still more success. 

Data source: OFV. Photos: Tesla (3 & Y).

UK Bus & Coach Registrations: 2025-26 (Q1)

It's a tough year so far for those selling buses in the UK. Registrations were down 37.7% in Q1. Apparently. the SMMT say it's due to two years of high growth and statistically that looks to be correct. 

I thought it might be larger buses suffering the most but no. Single deckers were down 15.5%, double deckers -22.1% and mini buses down a whopping 56%. Since 2021, mini buses have gone from two thirds to one third of the bus market. 

A mini bus is up to 6 tonnes and has from 9 to 17 seats. Clearly they have fallen out of favour. Single decker buses are outselling them and double deckers aren't far off from doing the same. The suddenness is surprising. 

So some of the larger falls are due to that change. It's nice to see Northern Ireland based Wrightbus doing well under trying circumstances, including indifference toward supporting locally made. Alexander Dennis manufacturers locally with its electric buses using BYD batteries. 

BYD is also doing well with electric double decker buses made in China. Yutong uses a local company for final assembly of its buses, the main structure made in China. 

Data source: SMMT. Photos Wrightbus & Alexander Dennis. 

NZ Medium Volume Brands (Europe - Premium) : 2026 (Jan-Apr)

These sort of vehicle has plenty of takers. Land Rover are particularly sought after, the Defender taking 46% of that marque's registrations so far. 

BMW MINI also does well. It's the hatch that leads while the Aceman is also achieving some success. 

Volvo is solid with the XC60 the main model. Porsche has the Macan and Cayenne doing the heavy lifting. 

One thing all four brands here share in common is that they have increased market share so far this year. 

Data source: NZTA. 

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

Kiwis go more for Asian brands, but there are still those who prefer European. Škoda sells well enough as a cheaper, better value VW. SEAT was dropped here as they weren't popular whereas Cupra was much more so. 

Peugeot also has a loyal following, unlike Renault that doesn't sell cars here. I wonder how much longer Citroën will be around, now they are no longer sold in Australia and not doing much here. 

The Ineos Grenadier should be popular here but numbers suggest otherwise. Supply issues and a lack of a broader dealer network (just four) not helping.  Fiat is all about the 500, the sporty Abarth variant just ahead of the regular model. Opel has tried to get a foothold in the market but has barely managed a toehold. 

Data source: NZTA. Photos: Škoda (Superb) & Cupra (Terramar).

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

The numbers here are indeed small, but not overlooked by me. Jaguar stopped making cars over a year ago and April 2026 was the first month of zero sales. The importer stocked up, but that can only go so far. When was the last time Jaguar didn't sell a car in a month in NZ? 

The GMC Yukon and Chevy Corvette come through a RHD conversion in Australia, so have started selling here. 

Cadillac has recently started making RHD cars so they are now arriving, but it will always be in limited numbers. Alfa Romeo has had a slow start to the year, the other three listed are always going to be uncommon sights on the road. 

Data source: NZTA. Photos: Morgan (Plus 6) & Cadillac (Vistiq).

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 selling marques in a car market can be overlooked due to their modest 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 models 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).