Rentals, China Drive Bumper September Sales

September saw 16,374 new vehicle registrations, an increase of 22% over September 2025. Used imports also rose 14.5% to 8407 units for the month.

Larry Fallowfield, MTA Sector Manager – Dealer and Specialist Services, said company and rental buyers combined accounted for 68% of all new vehicle registrations, reinforcing the significant role that fleet purchasing plays in the market.

“Rental companies traditionally secure significant volumes of vehicles ahead of the peak summer tourism season,” Mr Fallowfield says.

“With overseas tourist visits almost back to pre-Covid levels, operators are clearly anticipating high demand this summer.”

According to Government data, New Zealand had 3.67m overseas visitors in the year ending June 2026, an increase of 299,300 or 9 percent on the previous year. More than 201,900 international visitors arrived in June 2026, up 8.1 percent on June 2025 and reaching 95 percent of June 2019 levels.

Full details of the month’s sales and how they compare to previous months can be found on MTA’s open-access website, vstat: vstat.mta.co.nz.

The passenger vehicle segment was the standout performer in September, increasing 27.9% to 13,244 registrations.

Toyota remained the market leader, Mitsubishi and Kia continued strong performances, but Chinese brands were the major growth story, with BYD, MG and Geely all recording substantial gains.

“Demand remains heavily focused on hybrid SUVs, with the Toyota Corolla Cross taking pole position as the month's top-selling passenger vehicle – believed to be for the first time – followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander,” Mr Fallowfield says.

The light commercial vehicle market posted more modest growth, rising 2.9% to 3130 registrations. Toyota and Ford continued to dominate, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all commercial registrations, while the Hilux and Ranger remained the preferred commercial vehicles.

The biggest change in the sector was the continued emergence of BYD – the first Chinese brand to record more than 1000 registrations in a month, with the Shark 6 gaining strong traction among business and fleet buyers.

Chinese manufacturers continued their rise, with market share reaching 22.6% of all new vehicle registrations, more than tripling since early 2024. Brands such as BYD, MG, GWM, Chery and Geely are increasingly challenging traditional market leaders across both passenger and commercial sectors.

Hybrid vehicles remain the preferred powertrain across most buyer groups, particularly among fleet and rental operators.

“That clearly continues the trend we’ve seen since the start of the Iran war of demand for lower-emission vehicles that offer fuel savings,” Mr Fallowfield says.

MTA’s vstat presents vehicle registration data as easy-to-use dashboards and charts. It provides monthly and historical insights across new vehicles, used imports, motorcycles and heavy vehicles, allowing users to analyse market trends by make, model, fuel type, buyer type and vehicle category for a comprehensive view of the automotive market.