NZ new-vehicle sales April: drifting, but not in a good way

David Linklater

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RAV4 still rules: it's a Toyota, a medium SUV and a hybrid. How could it not?

RAV4 still rules: it's a Toyota, a medium SUV and a hybrid. How could it not?

The Motor Industry Association says the New Zealand new-vehicle market continued a "downward drift" in April, from sales of 9223 last year, to just 8839 this year. That's a 4.3% decrease over 2024 and a 13.1% decrease compared to 2023.

Ford Ranger.
Ranger beat Hilux for the month, but it's behind year-to-date.

MIA chief executive Aimee Wiley says April’s results continue an overall declining trend from the beginning of the year, although "some categories are showing resilience". 

“Registrations to the end of April totalled 41,380 vehicles – a 3.9% drop over the same period in 2024. This is likely due to continuing tight economic conditions impacting on spending behaviour.”

For cars and SUVs, registrations of 6092 were a minimal 0.3% reduction on the same month last year; light commercial (2367) and heavy commercial (380) were noticeably  down on the 2024 numbers (2515 and 597 respectively).

The Toyota RAV4 (697) was all-conquering among passenger/SUV models, followed by a brace of Mitsubishis: ASX (329) and Outlander (253).

Toyota remained the top passenger marque with 2172 registrations for a 24.6% share, but this is still an 8.6% drop on April 2024. Ford took second place with 917, Mitsubishi third with 842 units.

Battery electric light passenger vehicles (BEV) showed a sharp increase from 262 units in April 2024 to 442 last month, while hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) car sales were steady at 2310 in April 2025 compared to 2569 in April 2024.

In the light commercial category, the Ford Ranger (674) retained a slight lead over the Toyota Hilux (644). This represents a considerable narrowing of the gap between the fierce rivals, which recorded 836 and 510 registrations in April 2024.

Year-to-date figures are very different, with the Hilux totalling 2528 registrations for a 24.9% share, compared to 2460 Rangers and 24.2% share. This is a significant reversal of the situation from April 2024, when 4266 Rangers were registered for a 33.5% share, compared to 2469 Hiluxes and 19.4% share. 

NZ'S TOP NEW VEHICLES YEAR-TO-DATE
Toyota RAV4 (3140)
Toyota Hilux (2528)
Ford Ranger (2460)
Mitsubishi ASX (1261)
Mitsubishi Outlander (1246)
Kia Seltos (1160)
Mitsubishi Triton (1154)
Nissan Navara (934)
Suzuki Swift (756)
MG ZS (695)
BYD Shark 6 (658)