New vehicle sales trend upward in September
New vehicle registrations in New Zealand lifted in September, with both passenger and commercial sectors up compared with the same month last year. The latest figures show the market recovering with several brands and models posting growth.
Passenger vehicles
A total of 10,362 new passenger cars were registered in September, which is up 20.7 per cent on the 8588 recorded in September 2024.
Toyota led the passenger market with 2564 registrations, a 14.6 per cent lift year-on-year, to claim a 24.7 per cent share. Mitsubishi surged 57.8 per cent to 1755 units, taking second place, while Kia improved 16.1 per cent to 945. Mazda followed with 523 (up 57.1 per cent), while Ford slipped to 415 (down 31.3 per cent).
The top selling models were the Toyota RAV4 with 1281 registrations, followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander(810) and Mitsubishi ASX (805). The Toyota Corolla secured 434, while Ford’s Everest rounded out the top five with 363.
Commercial vehicles
New commercial registrations reached 3637 units in September, a 14.1 per cent increase on the 3187 recorded in September 2024.
Toyota led the commercial market with 1037 units, up 35.7 per cent year-on-year, giving it a 28.5 per cent market share. Ford followed closely with 956 registrations, though this was down 9.9 per cent on last year. Mitsubishi climbed 26.2per cent to 342 units, while Isuzu and LDV also made gains.
At a model level, the Ford Ranger remained New Zealand’s top-selling commercial vehicle with 827 registrations, although this was down on the 928 posted in September 2024. Toyota’s Hilux followed closely at 769 (up from 624), while the Mitsubishi Triton rose to 342. Toyota’s Hiace van (233) and Ford’s Transit (129) also featured in the top five.
The market year-to-date
The new passenger market continues to hold a solid lead over 2024. Across the first nine months of 2025, 70,722 passenger vehicles were registered, a 12.2 per cent increase compared with the 63,012 recorded in the same period last year.
The commercial sector is tracking more cautiously, with 30,197 registrations year-to-date, down 5.5 per cent from the 32,060 recorded at the same point in 2024.
