In the wake of the reveal of a brand-new Toyota RAV4, the current model (dating back to 2019) remains New Zealand's number-one selling vehicle year-to-date.
Toyota's medium-SUV continues to top the charts for 2025 and was the country's best-selling passenger vehicle for May (666), although the Ford Ranger clocked up the most registrations for the month (1051).
New vehicle registrations in May 2025 totalled 10,251, a modest 65 units higher than May 2024, signaling "stabilisation in monthly demand" says the Motor Industry Association (MIA). The year-to-date figure of 51,621 is still a 3% decline compared to 2024.
MIA chief executive Aimee Wiley says while the year-on-year result for May shows encouraging signs, the overall market is yet to regain momentum: “We probably still have a period of subdued activity to come, but these May numbers do offer some cause for optimism and hopes for better times ahead.”
For cars and SUVs, new registrations at 6817 showed a small improvement on the 6369 registered in
May 2024; light commercial (3016) and heavy commercial (418 units) represent a decrease on May 2024 figures of 3154 and 663 respectively.
Toyota’s RAV4 was the top passenger model for the month (666), followed by the Mitsubishi ASX (457) and Ford Everest (277).
In the May light-commercial market, the Ford Ranger (1051) was followed by the Toyota Hilux (910). But year-to-date registrations show a much closer contest, with the Ranger on 3510 registrations versus Hilux with 3438.
Battery electric light passenger vehicles (BEV) remained relatively steady over the month, with 447 registrations slightly higher than the 442 for April. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) with 2883 registrations and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) at 351 sales were ahead of those registered in April (2598 and 177 respectively).
NZ'S TOP 10 NEW VEHICLES YEAR-TO-DATE
Toyota RAV4 (3806)
Ford Ranger (3510)
Toyota Hilux (3438)
Mitsubishi ASX (1717)
Kia Seltos (1434)
Mitsubishi Outlander (1413)
Mitsubishi Triton (1313)
Nissan Navara (1172)
Suzuki Swift (914)
Ford Everest (863)