Utes are the most popular vehicles in New Zealand. As you can see from the tables below, the 2023 sales figures for the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Hilux were impressive. Despite the Ute Tax, they placed first and third on the overall list of the year’s best-selling vehicles.
In the table below, we list the top-selling utes in New Zealand based on sales data from the Motor Industry Association. It’s interesting to note that after very low sales for utes last December – Ranger 198, Hilux 106, HiAce 31 and Triton 28 – in the lead-up to the scrapping of the Ute Tax, sales numbers have rebounded so far this year.
Overall, sales of the top five selling utes of 2024 are up slightly (4%) on the same period last year, when the same utes featured. This compares favourably with the sales figures of the top five selling passenger cars, which have dropped by 2%.
Overall, all passenger car sales this year are down by 21% on the same period last year, dropping from 90,462 to 71,292. While commercial vehicle sales, including utes, are up just over 2%, from 34,300 to 35,091.
| Top Selling Utes 2023 |
Top Selling Utes October 2024 |
Top Selling Utes Year to Date 2024 |
| 1 Ford Ranger 9907 | 1 Ford Ranger 732 | 1 Ford Ranger 9459 |
| 2 Toyota Hilux 8054 | 2 Toyota Hilux 652 | 2 Toyota Hilux 6320 |
| 3 Mitsubishi Triton 3105 | 3 Mitsubishi Triton 251 | 3 Mitsubishi Triton 3794 |
| 4 Toyota HiAce 1818 | 4 Nissan Navara 147 | 4 Nissan Navara 1703 |
| 5 Nissan Navara 1143 | 5 Toyota HiAce 130 | 5 Toyota HiAce 1540 |
To give the above figures some context, here are the five top-selling passenger cars for 2023 and year to date 2024, which highlight the ongoing strength of ute sales:
| Top Selling Cars 2023 | Top Selling Cars Year to Date 2024 |
| 1 Toyota RAV4 (8757) | 1 Toyota RAV 4 (7663) |
| 2 Mitsubishi Outlander (4058) | 2 Mitsubishi ASX (3193) |
| 3 Tesla Model Y (3936) | 3 Mitsubishi Outlander (2954) |
| 4 Suzuki Swift (3922) | 4 Kia Seltos (2918) |
| 5 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (3638) | 5 Suzuki Swift (2331) |
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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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