Top Selling Cars in New Zealand
According to the most recent government statistics, from 2012 to 2022, the number of cars, utes and motorbikes on our roads grew by a third, from 3.3m to 4.4m.
And over the past three years, our appetite for new automobiles remained strong. Last year, the number of new cars sold was only slightly down on the previous two years’ figures:
- 2021: 112,008 new cars
- 2022: 116,334 new cars
- 2023: 110,488 new cars
And, these numbers don’t include new utes, which fall into the commercial category. Last year the Ford Ranger (9907 sales) and Toyota Hilux (8054 sales), were, respectively, the first and third most popular new vehicles overall on our roads.
However, this year, due to the tighter economic climate, cars sales are down considerably. To the end of October there were 71,292 new cars registered, compared to 90,462 in the same period last year.
So what new cars are selling cars in NZ? Canstar takes a look.
In this article
→Related article: Top Selling Utes in New Zealand
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Top 10 selling car models New Zealand
The top five best selling cars in NZ have been the same for the past two years. However, this year, one former top performer has run out of charge in the sales race: the Tesla Model Y.
Just 684 new Tesla Model Ys have hit our roads this year. That’s a drop of 77% on the Model Y’s sales numbers (3034) at the same point in 2023. Has the end of the Clean Car Discount, the introduction of road user charges for EV owners and increased competition in the EV market pulled the plug on Tesla sales? It certainly looks like it!
| Top Selling Cars 2023 | Top Selling Cars October 2024 | Top Selling Cars Year to Date 2024 |
| 1 Toyota RAV4 (8757) | 1 Toyota RAV 4 (1354) | 1 Toyota RAV 4 (7663) |
| 2 Mitsubishi Outlander (4058) | 2 Kia Seltos (544) | 2 Mitsubishi ASX (3193) |
| 3 Tesla Model Y (3936) | 3 Mitsubishi ASX (537) | 3 Mitsubishi Outlander (2954) |
| 4 Suzuki Swift (3922) | 4 Mitsubishi Outlander (429) | 4 Kia Seltos (2918) |
| 5 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (3638) | 5 Kia Sportage (299) | 5 Suzuki Swift (2331) |
| 6 BYD Atto 3 (3171) | 6 Ford Everest (288) | 6 Ford Everest (1780) |
| 7 MG ZS (3123) | 7 Mazda CX-5 (249) | 7 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (1572) |
| 8 Toyota Yaris Cross (2310) | 8 Toyota Corolla Cross (215) | 8 Kia Sportage (1565) |
| 9 Toyota Corolla (2284) | 9 Suzuki Swift (204) | 9 Kia Stonic (1457) |
| 10 Honda Jazz (2176) | 10 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (199) | 10 Toyota Yaris Cross (1421) |
Top 10 selling electric car models New Zealand
In 2022, EV and hybrid cars accounted for just over a third of all new car registrations. And last year that percentage increased to 41%. Overall, pure EV models increased from a 10% market share in 2022 to 14.5% in 2023.
However, it’s clear the end of the EV subsidies has had a big effect. While hybrid sales are gaining ground, EV numbers have plummeted. Just 5% of vehicles sold so far this year have been EVs, compared to 12% in the first nine months of last year.
| Sales by Engine Type 2023 | Sales by Engine Types 2024 |
| 30% Diesel | 35% Diesel |
| 29% Petrol | 32% Petrol |
| 26.5% Hybrid | 28% Hybrid |
| 14.5% EV | 5% EV |
Top selling totally electric vehicle models:
This year’s total EV sales are well down. In a rush to beat the Clean Car Discount shut-off date, a record 3361 EVs were sold/registered in the last month of 2023 alone, compared to a total of 4822 in the first ten months of this year.
However, despite many new models on the top-seller list, Tesla remains the country’s most popular EV:
| Top Selling EVs 2023 | Top Selling October 2024 | Top Selling EVs Year to Date 2024 |
| 1 Tesla Model Y (3936) | 1 Ford Mustang Mach-E (143) | 1 Tesla Model Y (684) |
| 2 BYD Atto 3 (3171) | 2 BYD Atto 3 (59) | 2 Ford Mustang Mach-E (356) |
| 3 MG 4 (1793) | 3 Tesla Model Y (48) | 3 Tesla Model 3 (332) |
| 4 MG ZS (1648) | 4 MG4 (35) | 4 BYD Atto 3 (307) |
| 5 Tesla Model 3 (971) | 5 Volkswagen ID.5 (34) | 5 Nissan Leaf (304) |
| 6 Kia EV6 (955) | 6 Skoda Enyaq (27) | 6 Volkswagen ID.4 (220) |
| 7 Kia Niro (660) | 7 Nissan Leaf (26) | 7 MG4 (214) |
| 8 Hyundai Kona (597) | 8 Polestar 2 (25) | 8 Kia EV9 (140) |
| 9 Hyundai Ioniq (558) | 9 Kia EV9 (24) | 9 Hyundai Ioniq 5 | Volkswagen ID.5 (139) |
| 10 Polestar 2 (541) | 10 Mini Aceman (21) | 10 BYD Dolphin (126) |
→Related article: Best Hybrid Cars in New Zealand
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New Zealand’s favourite passenger car brands
Japanese brands have long been the top selling cars in NZ, especially if you also count commercial vehicles. Between them, Toyota and Mitsubishi share roughly a third of the market.
However, while Japanese brands hold a large share of the overall market, Korea’s Kia and Hyundai are big players in the passenger sector. But it’s the upstart brands of BYD, GWM, MG and Tesla that have made the biggest inroads into the top car charts over the past few years.
New passenger car/SUV registrations by brand, no. sales and market share %:
| Top Selling Brands 2023 | Top Selling Brands October 2024 | Top Selling Brands Year to Date 2024 |
| 1 Toyota 21,913 (20%) | 1 Toyota 2420 (25%) | 1 Toyota 15,472 (22%) |
| 2 Mitsubishi 10,284 (9%) | 2 Kia 1300 (14%) | 2 Mitsubishi 8165 (11%) |
| 3 Kia 10,065 (9%) | 3 Mitsubishi 1174 (12%) | 3 Kia 7760 (11%) |
| 4 Hyundai 7092 (6%) | 4 Ford 678 (7%) | 4 Suzuki 4444 (6%) |
| 5 Suzuki 6817 (6%) | 5 Mazda 487 (5%) | 5 Ford 3656 (5%) |
| 6 MG 6105 (6%) | 6 Suzuki 400 (4%) | 6 Mazda 3132 (4%) |
| 7 Ford 5446 (5%) | 7 Hyundai 347 (4%) | 7 Hyundai 3125 (4%) |
| 8 Tesla 4907 (4%) | 8 Honda 318 (3%) | 8 MG 2521 (4%) |
| 9 Mazda 3829 (3%) | 9 MG 313 (3%) | 9 Honda 2491 (3%) |
| 10 BYD 3715 (3%) | 10 Nissan 233 (2%) | 10 GWM 2230 (3%) |
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About the author of this page
This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.
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