New Zealand April 2026: GWM breaks into Top 5

The GWM Haval H6 is up to 6th place in April.

The New Zealand new vehicle market is up 11.6% year-on-year in April to 9,863 units. Passenger vehicles are up 16.7% to 7,110 sales while commercial vehicles are flat at +0.2% to 2,753. The year-to-date tally is now up a sturdy 13.6% to 46,593. Toyota (+4.9%) is at a strong 23.1% share, well above the 19.2% it commands year-to-date. Ford (+10.9%) on the other hand holds a 10.3% share, just below the 10.7% YTD level and despite a larger YoY gain. Mitsubishi (-3.1%) manages to stay #3 despite enduring the only YoY drop in the Top 8.

GWM (+130.7%) more than doubles its sales year-on-year to reach a record 5th place (previous best #6 last December), also hitting all-time high volumes at 489 (366 last December) and share at 5% (3.9%). GWM is the best-selling Chinese brand for the month, distancing BYD (+59%) down two spots on March to #6. MG (+22.3%) and Suzuki (+12.5%) also beat the market in the remainder of the Top 10. Below, Jaecoo (+125.4%) is up to a best ever 12th place, followed by newcomer Chery at #13. Fellow Chinese Zeekr cracks the Top 25 at #24.

Model-wise, the Ford Ranger (+11.7%) reclaims the top spot off the Toyota Hilux (-5.7%) which, as it also is the case in neighbouring Australia, doesn’t seem to benefit fully from the launch of the new generation as it is down -8.9% year-to-date. Also handicapped until now by a lengthy generation changeover, the Toyota RAV4 (-18.5%) climbs back up to #3 despite still falling sharply YoY. The Mitsubishi Triton (+79.9%) soars as do the GWM Haval H6 (+198.8%) and Toyota Corolla Cross (+121.9%). Notice also the Jaecoo J5 at #22 and the Zeekr 7X at #25, both delivering their first Top 25 finish.

Previous month: New Zealand March 2026: Toyota Hilux leads the way, Dongfeng Box lands at #12

One year ago: New Zealand April 2025: Toyota RAV4 back in charge in weak market

Full April 2026 Top 25 brands and Top 25 models below.