New Zealand February 2026: Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Navara impress

The Hyundai Tucson is up to a record 2nd place in New Zealand in February.

New vehicle sales in New Zealand jump 8.3% year-on-year in February to 10,193 units, leading to a year-to-date tally up 8.5% to 22,000. Toyota (-34.2%) stays on top of the brands ranking but sees its market share crash to 14.9% vs. 24.5% a year ago in February 2025. In contrast Ford (+44.3%) surges ahead to 12.6% of the market vs. 11.4% so far this year. Mitsubishi (-13.5%) falls one spot on last month to #3 and 8.9% share vs. 10% year-to-date. In the remainder of the Top 10, Hyundai (+185.7%), Nissan (+41.1%) and BYD (+37.3%) stand out. Newcomer Chery repeats at #13 with 1.9% share.

Over the models charts, the Ford Ranger (+44.7%) lodges an excellent score and repeats at #1, cementing its YTD leadership. The surprise of the month is delivered by the Hyundai Tucson surging 17 ranks on last month to #2, the nameplate’s best-ever ranking in New Zealand, meaning it snaps the SUV crown off the Toyota RAV4 (-48.7%) hit by its generation changeover. In between is the Nissan Navara (+147.6%) managing another outstanding month at #3. The Mitsubishi ASX (+25.7%) is very strong at #5, as are the Ford Everest (+108.3%) and Toyota Hiace (+81.8%). The Toyota Hilux (-50.6%) implodes at #6 as the new generation slowly arrives in dealerships.

Previous month: New Zealand January 2026: Mitsubishi (+42%), Nissan Navara (+139.6%) stand out in solid market

One year ago: New Zealand February 2025: BYD Shark 6 repeats at #10

Full February 2026 Top 24 brands and Top 28 models below.