New Zealand August 2026: Hilux and RAV4 push Toyota to 28.7% share

Toyota Hilux sales are up 19.5% year-on-year in August.

12,216 new vehicles found a buyer in New Zealand in August, a 4.1% year-on-year uptick. The year-to-date volume is now up 9.9% to 95,385. Passenger Cars (Cars and SUVs) are up 12.9% to 9,137 whereas commercial vehicles sink -15.6% to 3,079. Year-to-date, PCs are up 14.9% to 69,360 and commercials down -2% to 26,025.

Toyota (+18.4%) cements its status as the country’s favourite carmaker with a stunning 28.7% share vs. 21% so far this year, and its highest since October 2025 (29.9%). Mitsubishi (+10.9%) is back up to 2nd place with 10.3% share, well above the 8.6% it commands year-to-date (#3). It pushes a freefalling Ford (-45.4%) down to #3. Kia (-2.9%) and Mazda (-10.3%) also struggle but BYD (+296.5%) surges at #6 and GWM (+18.6%) is strong at #7. Notice also Chery (+142.6%) repeating at #11, while Jaecoo (+142%) and Audi (+36.2%) also shine below.

Model-wise, the Toyota Hilux (+19.5%) is back in charge for the first time since last March with 7.3% share, that’s almost two percentage points of share above its year-to-date level (#2). The Toyota RAV4 (-14.7%) lurks just four sales below at 7.3% of the market also vs. 5% so far this year. The Ford Ranger (-41.6%) endures a mediocre month and falls to #3 but easily retains the YTD pole position. Excellent performance by the Toyota Corolla Cross (+259.6%) at #4, ahead of the Mitsubishi ASX (+19.6%) up seven spots on July to #5.

Previous month: New Zealand July 2026: BYD, Chery, Geely and Zeekr break records

One year ago: New Zealand August 2025: Rentals push Toyota RAV4 to first place YTD

Full August 2026 Top 20 brands and Top 20 models below.