New Zealand May 2026: Tesla Model Y and Ford Everest in Top 5

The Ford Everest is up to 5th place in New Zealand in May.

The New Zealand new vehicle market continues on its splendid run, with May sales up 10.2% year-on-year to 11,296 units to its strongest level since 2022. This leads to a year-to-date tally up 13.2% to 58,066. Toyota (+3.1%) trails the market but advances to 21.8% share vs. 19.6% so far this year. Ford (-15.9%) struggles in 2nd place but holds 11.5% of the market vs. 10.8% year-to-date. Kia (+17.7%) is solid at #4 but the biggest gainers are below: BYD surges 528% YoY to crack the Top 5 for the fourth time in NZ history after December 2023 (#5), June 2025 (#5) and March 2026 (#4). MG (+33.1%) and GWM (+37%) also impress below while newcomer Chery is up to a record #12, also reached in October 2025. 

Model-wise, the top 3 vastly underperform with double-digit drops. The Ford Ranger is down -23% in first place, followed by the Toyota Hilux (-14.7%) and RAV4 (-20.3%). The Tesla Model Y surges to #4, its second Top 5 finish of the year after ending March in third position. The Ford Everest (+22.7%) is up 16 spots on April to #5, its best ranking since last November (also #5). The Kia Sportage (+115.1%), Toyota Corolla Cross (+106.9%) and Mitsubishi Triton (+102.5%) all more than double their sales year-on-year and fit inside the Top 10. Finally, the BYD Shark 6 is back inside the Top 15 at #15.

Previous month: New Zealand April 2026: GWM breaks into Top 5

One year ago: New Zealand May 2025: Nissan up 61.9%, rentals push Ford Ranger back to #1

Full May 2026 Top 20 brands and Top 25 models below.