- Hilux ousts Ranger as the top-selling ute for August.
- Toyota claims top 3 spots overall and in hybrid sales.
- RAV4 best-selling PHEV, but beaten by another Toyota in HEV.
The Motor Industry Association (MIA), the organisation that represents new-vehicle distributors in New Zealand, has warned that just-released registration numbers for August should be "interpreted with some caution".
Registrations rose 4.2% year-on-year for August, to 12,216 vehicles. Passenger vehicles increased 13.1%, while light commercial registrations fell 14.7% and heavy commercial registrations declined 18.8%.
“August remained positive overall, but there were two quite different stories beneath the headline,” says MIA chief executive Aimee Wiley. “Passenger registrations continued to strengthen, increasingly supported by battery electric and plug in hybrid vehicles, while commercial activity remained subdued.
"Typhoon-related shipping disruption also affected vehicle arrivals, so individual brand and model results for August should be interpreted with appropriate caution.”
Year to date, total registrations remain 9.7% ahead of 2025. Passenger registrations are up 14.8%, while light commercial vehicles are down 2.2% and heavy commercial vehicles are broadly unchanged.
Passenger growth was concentrated in battery electric (BEV) and plug in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles. Their combined share of passenger registrations for the month was 23.9%, up from 9.8% last year.
BEVs are up 158.7% year-to-date and PHEVs 160.8%, with their combined share rising to 27.9% from 12.3%.
Private registrations were 17.2% higher in August and rental registrations 32.8 percent higher, while business registrations were broadly unchanged.
"Broader economic conditions remain mixed," says the MIA, "but August registration movements should not be attributed too heavily to the economic backdrop given the disruption to vehicle supply during the month.
The Toyota Hilux was the top model overall for the month at 890 sales, followed by two more Toyotas: RAV4 (886) and Corolla Cross (597). The Ford Ranger was fourth (571), then the Mitsubishi ASX.
The top three BEVs were the BYD Atto 3 (107), Tesla Model Y (81) and MGS5 (69). The most popular PHEVs were the Toyota RAV4 (485), GWM Haval H6 (79) and Jaecoo J7 (68).
RAV4 in the PHEV segment is something new, but surprisingly Corolla Cross beat it in hybrid sales, with 597 registrations versus 401. Another Toyota, the Yaris Cross, filled out the top three (222).
NZ'S TOP 10 NEW VEHICLES YEAR-TO-DATE
Ford Ranger (6221)
Toyota Hilux (5161)
Toyota RAV4 (4802)
Mitsubishi Triton (2601)
Mitsubishi ASX (2461)
Toyota Corolla Cross (2393)
Tesla Model Y (2392)
Mitsubishi Outlander (2110)
Toyota Hiace (1880)
Ford Everest (1869)