New Zealand Full Year 2025: Toyota RAV4 ends 10 years of Ford Ranger dominance

The Toyota RAV4 is the best-selling vehicle in New Zealand for the first time.

Discover over 50 years of New Zealand Historical Info here.

New vehicle sales in New Zealand advance a solid 7.2% year-on-year in 2025 to 138,073 units, however we remain far off the record 165,287 reached in 2021. Toyota (+9.4%) beats the market to an improved 24% share vs. 23.5% last year. In fact the Top 5 is unchanged on 2024, with Ford (-12.3%) keeping the 2nd place despite a harsh YoY fall. Mitsubishi (-0.3%) is stable, followed by Kia (+2.9%) and Suzuki (-5.1%) also wobbly. MG (+36.2%), Mazda (+27.4%) and Nissan (+10.9%) shine but the best performer in the Top 10 is without a doubt BYD (+291.1%) going from 0.8% share in 2024 to 2.7% now. GWM (+23.8%), Subaru (+15.2%) and Honda (+13.3%) also make themselves noticed below. 

We have a big change in the models ranking: the Toyota RAV4 (+7.3%) climbs to pole position and ends 10 consecutive years of reign by the Ford Ranger (-17.5%) in deep trouble this year. The Toyota Hilux (+11.7%) remains in third place while the Mitsubishi ASX (+32.1%) and Outlander (+32.7%) both surge ahead to round out the Top 5. The Ford Everest (+42.2%) does even better and is up four spots to #6. The Nissan Navara (+32.1%) and Toyota Hiace (+20.4%) also impress in the remainder of the Top 10 just as the BYD Shark 6 lands directly at #14 for its first appearance in the NZ charts. It peaked at #6 in June.

Previous year: New Zealand 2024: Ford Ranger celebrates 10 straight years at #1

Two years ago: New Zealand 2023: Ford Ranger and Toyota RAV4 on top, MG and BYD up

Full December 2025 Top 25 brands and Top 30 models, Full Year 2025 Top 98 All brands and Top 25 models vs. Full Year 2024 figures below.