New Zealand October 2026: Toyota RAV4 on top despite harsh YoY fall

November 9, 2026
Matt Gasnier
0 Comments

The Toyota RAV4 is the best-selling vehicle in New Zealand in October.

14,630 new light vehicles found a buyer in New Zealand in October, up 2.7% year-on-year. The year-to-date tally is now up 9.9% to 126,389. Note sales to rental fleets accounted for a massive 34% share for the month. Toyota (-5.5%) stays atop the brands ranking with a whopping 27.5% share vs. 22.2% so far this year. Ford (-17.8%) is back to the 2nd spot it holds year-to-date despite a dramatic year-on-year loss. Mitsubishi (-5.1%) drops on spot on last month to #3 while Kia (+42%) surges to #4, ensuring the Top 4 is identical to the YTD order. BYD (+258.4%) and GWM (+134.5%) lead the Chinese charge with stunning YoY gains, with Mazda (+39%) and MG (+31.7%) also very strong in the remainder of the Top 10. Below, notice Jaecoo (+104.9%) at 14 and Geely at #15.

Model-wise, the Toyota RAV4 (-28.2%) is the overall best-seller for the first time this year, even though it freefalls YoY. The Toyota Corolla Cross (+452.7%), #1 last month, continues to skyrocket and reaches 6.2% share vs. 3.4% so far this year. The Hilux (+14.9%) ensures the podium is 100% Toyota and outsells its archenemy the Ford Ranger (-3.7%) as it does in neighbouring Australia. The Ranger however remains #1 year-to-date with over 1,000 sales more than the Hilux. Excellent performances also by the Mitsubishi Outlander (+24.1%), Kia Sportage (+141.8%) and GWM Haval H6 (+62.5%). Finally, the BYD Atto 2 breaks into the Top 10 for the first time at #10.

Previous month: New Zealand September 2026: Toyota Corolla Cross storms into top spot in market up 22.2%

One year ago: New Zealand October 2025: RAV4, Yaris Cross, Corolla push Toyota to highest in almost 6 years

Full October 2026 Top 15 brands and models below.

New Zealand October 2026 – brands:

Pos	Brand	Oct-26	%	/25	Sep	2026	%	/25	Pos	FY25
1	Toyota	4,017	27.5%	– 5.5%	1	28,114	22.2%	+ 1.9%	1	1
2	Ford	1,339	9.2%	– 17.8%	4	12,187	9.6%	– 4.1%	2	2
3	Mitsubishi	1,324	9.0%	– 5.1%	2	11,689	9.2%	– 0.9%	3	3
4	Kia	1,197	8.2%	+ 42.0%	3	9,088	7.2%	+ 15.7%	4	4
5	Mazda	788	5.4%	+ 39.0%	9	3,929	3.1%	– 1.4%	9	6
6	BYD	785	5.4%	+ 258.4%	5	6,569	5.2%	+ 110.7%	5	10
7	GWM	666	4.6%	+ 134.5%	8	4,644	3.7%	+ 50.0%	7	11
8	MG	498	3.4%	+ 31.7%	7	4,485	3.5%	+ 28.0%	6	9
9	Honda	358	2.4%	+ 1.1%	11	2,919	2.3%	– 1.7%	13	12
10	Suzuki	320	2.2%	– 8.8%	10	3,668	2.9%	– 10.2%	8	5
11	Chery	298	2.0%	+ 15.1%	12	2,362	1.9%	+ 231.3%	14	23
12	Nissan	271	1.9%	+ 3.4%	13	3,083	2.4%	– 26.6%	11	7
13	Hyundai	252	1.7%	– 60.1%	15	2,857	2.3%	– 18.9%	12	8
14	Jaecoo	211	1.4%	+ 104.9%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	24
15	Geely	204	1.4%	n/a	14	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	41

New Zealand October 2026 – models:

Pos	Model	Oct-26	%	/25	Sep	2026	%	/25	Pos	FY25
1	Toyota RAV4	1,174	8.0%	– 28.2%	5	6,787	5.4%	– 25.7%	3	1
2	Toyota Corolla Cross	912	6.2%	+ 452.7%	1	4,269	3.4%	+ 241.5%	4	20
3	Toyota Hilux	872	6.0%	+ 14.9%	4	6,862	5.4%	– 5.1%	2	3
4	Ford Ranger	805	5.5%	– 3.7%	3	7,876	6.2%	+ 0.2%	1	2
5	Mitsubishi Outlander	732	5.0%	+ 24.1%	2	3,809	3.0%	+ 4.3%	5	5
6	Kia Sportage	474	3.2%	+ 141.8%	10	2,576	2.0%	n/a	8	21
7	Ford Everest	322	2.2%	– 36.4%	12	2,452	1.9%	– 5.0%	9	6
8	Mitsubishi ASX	304	2.1%	– 29.1%	6	3,445	2.7%	– 15.5%	6	4
9	GWM Haval H6	299	2.0%	+ 62.5%	16	2,234	1.8%	+ 51.3%	10	17
10	BYD Atto 2	220	1.5%	new	14	n/a	n/a	new	n/a	–
11	Toyota Yaris Cross	214	1.5%	– 61.2%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	11
12	MG ZS	211	1.4%	+ 21.3%	15	1,798	1.4%	+ 5.6%	n/a	12
13	Toyota Corolla	208	1.4%	– 34.8%	8	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	13
14	Mitsubishi Triton	203	1.4%	– 16.8%	9	3,200	2.5%	+ 14.7%	7	7
15	BYD Shark 6	197	1.3%	+ 77.5%	17	1,539	1.2%	– 4.7%	n/a	14
16	Mazda CX-30	184	1.3%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
17	Nissan X-Trail	172	1.2%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	23
18	Kia Sorento	171	1.2%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
19	Mazda CX-3	171	1.2%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
20	Toyota Hiace	147	1.0%	– 34.4%	19	2,207	1.7%	+ 26.1%	11	10