NZ Passenger Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-Apr)

Registrations for PCs were up 17% in April and 13%YTD. Toyota has had a slow start, as it often does. It is still holding 16.5% market share but that is down 28% on a full 2025. That 28% figure is exacerbated by the increase in total market sales. 

Mitsubishi is in the same boat as Toyota. The next two made hay though. Suzuki introduced the Fronx in mid 2025 and it was soon selling well, but a rear safety belt failure meant it was withdrawn from the market. This hurt the brand's sales although it is on sale again. 

BYD has raced into the top ten, with Haval there too and Chery closing in quickly on that achievement. That would be the cherry on the cake. The Haval H6 is above. Note too that the 2025 share on the chart below is for the full year.

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). 

NZ Pick Up Sales : 2025-26 (Jan-Apr)

The pick up market in NZ is a popular segment and the variety has been growing recently. Models from China have been the reason for the increase in variety. 

The colours below are based on where the brand originated. Blue is the US, pink Asia and yellow Europe. MG and LDV are now Chinese brands but with UK origins. 

For now it seems the legacy brand pick up trucks are still the most popular and not being unduly affected by the new entrants. The Ford Ranger has 36.4% of the market as an example of that. 

The =/- column compares four months of 2026 with twelve months of 2025. That's why they they are virtually all negative. With registrations currently running at -70%, a number lower than that gets a green up arrow. 

Data source: NZTA. Photos Ford & Nissan (Ranger & Navara).

NZ Passenger Car EV Sales : 2025-26 Q1.

                                                               Dongfeng

With petrol prices going up, some car buyers suddenly go for EVs. Prices will fall again so a short term fossil fuel hike gets consumers in a tizz. If they did the maths, surely there isn't justification to do so costwise.

Passenger car EV registrations in New Zealand are up 114% YOY, compared to 12% for the total. EV market share has gone from 7.2% to 13.9%. I doubt that percentage will hold for the full year. 

BYD leads the way with 784 sales, gradually pulling away from Tesla. Dongfeng has recently arrived and is already third. 

It's interesting to note that Polestar, BMW, M-B, Lexus and Porsche have all taken substantial hits. Chinese brands are certainly making their mark.

With stock levels of EVs reduced with a buying splurge, stock levels will be affected. How long it takes for a Chinese car firm to get vehicles down here will determine if a dip in EV sales will result in April due to limited availability. 

Data Source: NZTA. 

Brands From China In NZ : 2025

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. 

The question is just how successful will this new wave of Chinese entrants be? 

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.

NZ Top 30 Premium Models : 2025

Top lists are dominated by mainstream models and premium models rarely get a look in. 

In New Zealand, premium tend to be more premium than say Europe, with more kit included as standard. Well. that's what we are told to justify charging more.

To the right we see a colour coded chart based on brand origin. We will briefly look at each. 

USA has the top model with the Tesla Model Y. Is it really premium? It is generally considered so. Two Tesla models in the top ten, the US four in total.

The Ram P/U and Chervolet Silverado are included here. With right hand drive conversion cost and reasonably high specification, they qualify.

Europe is finally in its element. Twenty two models in all. I was surprised to see the Polestar 2 second. Land Rover has three in the list, doing better than they would in the UK. Volvo got two models onto the list.

Japan has four Lexus models here, all in the top half of the chart. I view them as Toyotas with some bling which at least imbues them with a reputation of reliability.

Data source: NZTA. Photos Land Rover & MINI. 

NZ Pick Up Sales : 2024-25

Pick up vehicles are popular here, suiting the outdoor leisure lifestyle and are sought after by tradesmen. For 2025, sales were about the same as they were the year before yet with more models available. 

Japanese brands dominate, US and European brands have a few representatives and China is starting to make inroads. Some of the names may be unfamiliar for that reason. 

The Toyota Hilux (picture above) was last top in 2013 but since then it has been the Ford Ranger leading the way. Ford's sales superiority was under threat earlier in the year but normal service was  maintained. There is a new 10th generation Hilux coming so the old outgoing ninth generation surprised me by its strong sales. 

Mitsubishi, Nissan and Isuzu are always in the mix behind the top two. Mazda was also there but has pulled the plug on a relatively new pick up sourced from Isuzu. It's now in run out mode. That's another surprise.

The rest are small selling models except for one new brand that is making big waves in a short period of time. That's the hybrid BYD Shark (see pic below chart). Pick up truck owners are a loyal bunch but BYD is winning over customers quickly.

RHD conversions of US sourced trucks are gaining traction in Australia and some are coming across the Tasman Sea. RAM and Chevrolet are two that make that journey. However, Toyota has no plans to bring the Tundra over and the Ford F-150 is unconfirmed as far as I know. 

Pick ups are counted as commercial vehicles in NZ. The Toyota Land Cruiser is simply listed as such and I assume they are all pick ups. The VW Amarok had a very poor 2025 and possibly the Mahindra Pik Up is being discontinued. 

In the chart, pink represents brands associated with Asia, yellow Europe and blue USA. For Europe, the VW is sourced from Ford and the rest are Chinese with brand names originating in the UK.  

Data source: Thanks to NZTA. Photos: Toyota & BYD NZ.

New Zealand Pickup Sales : 2023 - 2025

The US popularised the pick up truck for work, especially for farmers. It spread to the trades and more recently as a leisure vehicle.

The US and Japanese companies were the suppliers of this sort of vehicle. That kept the number of models limited and as sales grew, they became the top models in markets where they were popular.

Sales are still strong, as we can see in the chart. 28,726 were sold in 2025, but look at the new models. 

Chinese manufacturers (and Korean) want in, so the number of models is growing quickly. Sales are being spread across more models and as a result, a pick up truck is no longer the best selling model in NZ. 

The BYD Shark, Kia Tasman JAC T9, LDV Terron, MG U9 and Geely Riddara are the most recent and most have yet to sell for an entire year.

Pick ups have also been a profitable segment to be in yet competition usually brings down prices. Surely that has to affect margins or volume. Competition is good for the consumer. 

Data source: NZTA. Photos: Ford & GWM NZ.

New Zealand Motorbike Sales : 2025

Motorbike sales in NZ have been reducing over the past few years. 8,552 were sold in 2021 but each year since the number has fallen. In 2025, 6,147 were sold.

They are expensive to register in NZ due to their high accident rate and the cost that puts on the medical system. That cost is passed on to the rider via the annual registration. 

I've noticed brand sales bounce around more than cars. Therefore, some of the increases (green) or decreases (yellow) could be very different next year.

Honda is the most popular with 907 units sold. CFMOTO  jumped into second spot with 708 registrations. 

Summary: Recent increases in registration fees may have put some buyers off as overall ownership costs are now quite high. 

Data source: NZTA. Photo source: Honda & Triumph NZ.

NZ Top 50 Model: 2025

The list is colour coded to represent the region or country the brand originated from. Unlike the article that covers sales by brand, the increase is based on sales volume. For the brand analysis I use market share.

Japanese models are plentiful here as are Asian ones generally. The Toyota RAV4 is miles ahead of anything else. Mitsubishi did well with the ASX and Highlander, both up about a third in total. 

Chinese models are entering the Top 50 chart and more brands are arriving. However, with sales up 12%, no one seems to be suffering despite there are now 70 passenger car brands vying for attention. 

Data source: NZTA. Pictures Toyota NZ (parking fail) & MG NZ.

New Zealand Passenger Car Sales : 2025

Registrations were up 12% in 2025 to 97,987, which was a healthy increase. Add to that 85,031 used passenger cars (-13%), which brings the total to 183,000, so a large number of cars entered the market place. 

Keeping it real, the 2025 new registrations total was 4.4% down on the average for the previous ten years. So in that context new car sales were not as upbeat as it may sound. Still, how many cars does NZ need?

The chart below shows market share movement and all the top four have lost market share in 2025. Toyota is the brand chosen in 23% of purchases. Mitsubishi, Kia and Suzuki followed but a huge gap remains. Ford relies heavily on the Ranger pickup but as it is treated as a light commercial vehicle, it is excluded from this list. Ford would be second placed if commercials were added. 

Chinese brands of note are MG (7th), Haval (10th), and BYD (13th). GWM (which includes Haval, Tank and Ora) is separated here for greater clarity. Jaecoo, Omoda, Chery and Leapmotor are new entrants, so how they progress will be interesting. 

A few US brands are arriving, so they are no longer all under GM US as I used to do it. GMC, Chevrolet and Cadillac are the brands involved, the latter electric only. The Yukon, Corvette and Lyric are the models represented. 

Jaguar stopped making cars a while back but stock must have been secured to keep sales going strong for the whole year. They did taper off toward the end of the year as expected. Punters have been keen to obtain a vehicle before they disappear as an affordable marque. 

For 2024 articles, simply click on the links below:

By brand.

Top 40 Models.

Data source: NZTA. Picture sources: Mitsubishi, GWM.

NZ Top 40 : 2024

The NZ car market is mainly about Japanese cars with Korean offerings not too far behind. European models aren't so popular until the premium segment when they take over. The US is similar to Europe but without the premium success.  

Toyota is by far the most popular brand but on a first glance at the list below it may not seem obvious until one notices the depth in the models that do well here. The RAV4 is miles ahead of any other passenger car which helps the cause. 

Thanks to the NZTA which is a new source for me. They provide the basic data that creates the picture you see below. It varies slightly from the MIA but is very similar. 

You may have noticed there are supposed to be forty models. Well, the last five are classed as light commercials and not passenger cars so see the bottom of the article for the last five. 

Data source: NZTA.

Ford has the most popular light truck model with the Ranger, beating off several Japanese brands. It is also the best selling when including passenger cars.