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.
New Zealand May 2026 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | May-26 | % | /25 | Apr | 2026 | % | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Toyota | 2,465 | 21.8% | + 3.1% | 1 | 11,401 | 19.6% | – 4.1% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Ford | 1,300 | 11.5% | – 15.9% | 2 | 6,271 | 10.8% | + 14.5% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Mitsubishi | 979 | 8.7% | + 7.8% | 3 | 5,129 | 8.8% | + 2.1% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Kia | 719 | 6.4% | + 17.7% | 4 | 3,821 | 6.6% | + 7.9% | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | BYD | 628 | 5.6% | + 528.0% | 6 | 2,717 | 4.7% | + 115.3% | 5 | 10 |
| 6 | Tesla | 490 | 4.3% | + 775.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 18 |
| 7 | MG | 454 | 4.0% | + 33.1% | 8 | 2,213 | 3.8% | + 23.2% | 6 | 9 |
| 8 | GWM | 378 | 3.3% | + 37.0% | 5 | 1,949 | 3.4% | + 40.2% | 8 | 11 |
| 9 | Suzuki | 369 | 3.3% | + 7.3% | 7 | 1,937 | 3.3% | – 3.2% | 9 | 5 |
| 10 | Mazda | 285 | 2.5% | – 10.7% | 9 | 1,706 | 2.9% | + 1.5% | 10 | 6 |
| 11 | Honda | 256 | 2.3% | + 21.3% | 11 | 1,365 | 2.4% | – 12.3% | 12 | 12 |
| 12 | Chery | 175 | 1.5% | new | 13 | 994 | 1.7% | new | 13 | 23 |
| 13 | Subaru | 157 | 1.4% | – 22.3% | 17 | 803 | 1.4% | – 16.7% | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Hyundai | 152 | 1.3% | – 56.1% | 10 | 1,652 | 2.8% | + 19.1% | 11 | 8 |
| 15 | Volkswagen | 145 | 1.3% | – 12.1% | 19 | 753 | 1.3% | – 24.8% | 18 | 13 |
| 16 | Mercedes | 142 | 1.3% | – 8.4% | 20 | 759 | 1.3% | – 11.0% | 17 | 15 |
| 17 | Isuzu | 136 | 1.2% | + 52.8% | 16 | 792 | 1.4% | + 17.7% | 15 | 16 |
| 18 | Nissan | 133 | 1.2% | – 68.4% | 18 | 2,075 | 3.6% | – 10.3% | 7 | 7 |
| 19 | BMW | 132 | 1.2% | – 9.0% | 15 | 763 | 1.3% | – 3.3% | 16 | 17 |
| 20 | Audi | 126 | 1.1% | + 26.0% | 14 | 597 | 1.0% | + 27.8% | 20 | 21 |
| 21 | Dongfeng | 118 | 1.0% | new | 22 | n/a | n/a | new | n/a | 56 |
| 22 | Lexus | 113 | 1.0% | – 12.4% | 21 | 645 | 1.1% | + 0.5% | 19 | 19 |
New Zealand May 2026 – models:
| Pos | Model | May-26 | % | /25 | Apr | 2026 | % | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Ford Ranger | 809 | 7.2% | – 23.0% | 1 | 4,047 | 7.0% | + 15.3% | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Toyota Hilux | 776 | 6.9% | – 14.7% | 2 | 3,079 | 5.3% | – 10.4% | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Toyota RAV4 | 531 | 4.7% | – 20.3% | 3 | 2,404 | 4.1% | – 36.8% | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | Tesla Model Y | 415 | 3.7% | n/a | n/a | 895 | 1.5% | n/a | 15 | 22 |
| 5 | Ford Everest | 340 | 3.0% | + 22.7% | 21 | 1,201 | 2.1% | + 39.2% | 9 | 6 |
| 6 | Mitsubishi Triton | 322 | 2.9% | + 102.5% | 4 | 1,497 | 2.6% | + 14.0% | 5 | 7 |
| 7 | Mitsubishi ASX | 282 | 2.5% | – 38.3% | 10 | 1,534 | 2.6% | – 10.7% | 4 | 4 |
| 8 | Kia Sportage | 256 | 2.3% | + 115.1% | 9 | 1,025 | 1.8% | + 187.1% | 13 | 21 |
| 9 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 241 | 2.1% | + 44.3% | 5 | 1,317 | 2.3% | – 6.8% | 6 | 5 |
| 10 | Toyota Corolla Cross | 211 | 1.9% | + 106.9% | 7 | 1,186 | 2.0% | + 88.3% | 10 | 20 |
| 11 | Toyota Hiace | 199 | 1.8% | + 48.5% | 8 | 1,259 | 2.2% | + 75.8% | 7 | 10 |
| 12 | GWM Haval H6 | 191 | 1.7% | + 36.4% | 6 | 994 | 1.7% | + 70.5% | 14 | 17 |
| 13 | MG ZS | 167 | 1.5% | + 3.1% | 11 | 1,070 | 1.8% | + 24.9% | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | Toyota Prado | 165 | 1.5% | + 43.5% | 13 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 18 |
| 15 | BYD Shark 6 | 157 | 1.4% | + 220.4% | n/a | 638 | 1.1% | – 9.8% | 18 | 14 |
| 16 | Hyundai Tucson | 151 | 1.3% | + 46.6% | 14 | 1,153 | 2.0% | n/a | 11 | 15 |
| 17 | BYD Atto 3 | 142 | 1.3% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 18 | MG 4 | 141 | 1.2% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 19 | Suzuki Swift | 141 | 1.2% | – 11.9% | 15 | 740 | 1.3% | – 19.0% | 17 | 16 |
| 20 | Toyota Corolla | 141 | 1.2% | + 182.0% | 16 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 13 |
| 21 | Kia Seltos | 131 | 1.2% | – 52.2% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 8 |
| 22 | Toyota Yaris | 116 | 1.0% | n/a | 18 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 23 | Toyota Yaris Cross | 115 | 1.0% | + 29.2% | 20 | 768 | 1.3% | n/a | 16 | 11 |
| 24 | Chery Tiggo 4 Pro | 106 | 0.9% | n/a | n/a | 367 | 0.6% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 25 | Ford Transit | 96 | 0.8% | – 5.0% | 24 | 499 | 0.9% | + 2.7% | n/a | 25 |
| 26 | Kia EV3 | 96 | 0.8% | new | n/a | n/a | n/a | new | n/a | n/a |
| n/a | Isuzu D-Max | 79 | 0.7% | + 172.4% | n/a | 526 | 0.9% | + 58.9% | 19 | n/a |
| n/a | Kia Tasman | 50 | 0.4% | new | n/a | n/a | n/a | new | n/a | n/a |
| n/a | GWM Cannon | 35 | 0.3% | n/a | n/a | 255 | 0.4% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| n/a | LDV Deliver 9 | 31 | 0.3% | n/a | n/a | 145 | 0.2% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Source: MIA
