New Zealand January 2026: Mitsubishi (+42%), Nissan Navara (+139.6%) stand out in solid market
Promotions on the outgoing generations push the Nissan Navara to #4.
New light vehicle sales in New Zealand are up 8.7% year-on-year in January to 11,807 units. Brand leader Toyota (-4.2%) suffers and sees its share thaw to 19.9% vs. 24% over the Full Year 2025. Mitsubishi (+42%) is euphoric and overtakes Ford (+19.6%) for 2nd place overall. Kia (+18.9%) is back up to the #4 spot it held over the Full Year 2025. The rest of the Top 9 all beat the market, with MG (+36.1%) the most dynamic above Nissan (+32.4%), Mazda (+23.5%), BYD (+21.9%) and GWM (+13.1%).
Model-wise, the Ford Ranger (+24.4%) return to #1 for the first time since last June, overtaking last year’s leader the Toyota RAV4 (-37.3%) handicapped by a generation changeover. It is also the case for the Toyota Hilux (-64.7%) imploding to #13. The Mitsubishi ASX (+51.9%) repeats in third place above the Nissan Navara (+139.6%) and Mitsubishi Outlander (+68.8%). Excellent performances also by the Toyota Corolla Cross (+173.8%), Kia Stonic (+104.6%) and Toyota Hiace (+109%).
Previous post: New Zealand Full Year 2025: Toyota RAV4 ends 10 years of Ford Ranger dominance
One year ago: New Zealand January 2025: BYD Shark 6 lands directly inside Top 10
Full January 2026 Top 20 brands and Top 25 models below.
New Zealand January 2026 – brands;
| Pos | Brand | Jan-26 | % | /24 | Dec |
| 1 | Toyota | 2,353 | 19.9% | – 4.2% | 1 |
| 2 | Mitsubishi | 1,304 | 11.0% | + 42.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Ford | 1,216 | 10.3% | + 19.6% | 2 |
| 4 | Kia | 1,020 | 8.6% | + 18.9% | 12 |
| 5 | Nissan | 539 | 4.6% | + 32.4% | 4 |
| 6 | BYD | 445 | 3.8% | + 21.9% | 9 |
| 7 | MG | 437 | 3.7% | + 36.1% | 10 |
| 8 | Mazda | 420 | 3.6% | + 23.5% | 5 |
| 9 | GWM | 388 | 3.3% | + 13.1% | 6 |
| 10 | Suzuki | 381 | 3.2% | – 26.2% | 7 |
| 11 | Hyundai | 274 | 2.3% | – 3.9% | 8 |
| 12 | Honda | 237 | 2.0% | – 23.3% | 11 |
| 13 | Chery | 212 | 1.8% | new | 16 |
| 14 | Volkswagen | 202 | 1.7% | – 23.8% | 15 |
| 15 | BMW | 190 | 1.6% | – 5.0% | 23 |
| 16 | Mercedes | 187 | 1.6% | + 9.4% | 13 |
| 17 | Subaru | 180 | 1.5% | – 21.1% | 14 |
| 18 | Isuzu | 168 | 1.4% | + 5.0% | 21 |
| 19 | Lexus | 140 | 1.2% | + 32.1% | 20 |
| 20 | Jaecoo | 117 | 1.0% | + 74.6% | 24 |
New Zealand January 2026 – models:
| Pos | Model | Jan-26 | % | /25 | Dec |
| 1 | Ford Ranger | 688 | 5.8% | + 24.4% | 2 |
| 2 | Toyota RAV4 | 641 | 5.4% | – 37.3% | 1 |
| 3 | Mitsubishi ASX | 492 | 4.2% | + 51.9% | 3 |
| 4 | Nissan Navara | 405 | 3.4% | + 139.6% | 6 |
| 5 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 363 | 3.1% | + 68.8% | 7 |
| 6 | Kia Stonic | 354 | 3.0% | + 104.6% | n/a |
| 7 | Toyota Corolla Cross | 334 | 2.8% | + 173.8% | 22 |
| 8 | Ford Everest | 296 | 2.5% | + 50.3% | 8 |
| 9 | Toyota Yaris Cross | 284 | 2.4% | n/a | 13 |
| 10 | Toyota Hiace | 255 | 2.2% | + 109.0% | 11 |
| 11 | Kia Seltos | 242 | 2.0% | – 33.1% | n/a |
| 12 | Mitsubishi Triton | 234 | 2.0% | – 7.5% | 5 |
| 13 | Toyota Hilux | 217 | 1.8% | – 64.7% | 4 |
| 14 | MG ZS | 205 | 1.7% | + 25.0% | 16 |
| 15 | GWM Haval H6 | 201 | 1.7% | + 39.6% | 10 |
| 16 | Suzuki Swift | 190 | 1.6% | – 23.7% | 14 |
| 17 | Mazda CX-5 | 171 | 1.4% | + 54.1% | 18 |
| 18 | Kia Sportage | 170 | 1.4% | + 18.9% | n/a |
| 19 | Hyundai Tucson | 155 | 1.3% | n/a | 9 |
| 20 | Toyota Corolla | 153 | 1.3% | n/a | 26 |
| 21 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 141 | 1.2% | n/a | 19 |
| 22 | Chery Tiggo 4 Pro | 131 | 1.1% | n/a | 27 |
| 23 | Isuzu D-Max | 127 | 1.1% | + 60.8% | n/a |
| 24 | Suzuki Jimny | 121 | 1.0% | n/a | n/a |
| 25 | Jaecoo J7 | 117 | 1.0% | n/a | 25 |
| 26 | Toyota Prado | 117 | 1.0% | – 26.9% | n/a |
| n/a | BYD Shark 6 | 85 | 0.7% | – 56.4% | 12 |
| n/a | Ford Transit | 80 | 0.7% | – 10.1% | 29 |
| n/a | LDV Deliver 9 | 47 | 0.4% | n/a | 20 |
| n/a | GWM Cannon | 44 | 0.4% | n/a | 30 |
Source: Autotalk
