Chinese brands rise, but Toyota remains NZ’s favourite carmaker

Following Australia and New Zealand’s sharp rise in petrol prices, customers flocked to dealerships around the country in search of affordable new plug-in hybrid and fully electric options. And the biggest winners of this phenomena have been Chinese carmakers.

Across the ditch, BYD’s rise has seen it begin to knock on the door of long-time industry sales leader Toyota. The EV-specialist brand stormed to second in the Australian sales charts for two months in a row. 

Whilst Toyota still comfortably outsold BYD in Australia over those two months, its year-to-date sales are down considerably on the previous year — from 100,753 to 76,017. BYD on the other hand has had its sales rise over the same period from 15,199 to 33,454.

BYD has enjoyed a similar rise in sales in New Zealand, but not quite to the same extent. 

The brand ended 2025 as New Zealand’s 11th most popular brand overall. With five months now in the books, BYD has skyrocketed to fifth in the order. Having notched up 2706 registrations year-to-date, it is on target to overtake its total registration tally from 2025 in the next two to three months. 

BYD isn’t the only Chinese marque to see gains. MG and GWM both ended 2025 ninth and 10th in the local sales charts. Year-to-date, the pair now sit sixth and eighth, respectively. 

Whilst Toyota’s year-on-year registration figures are down almost 25% in Australia, the brand remains largely stable in New Zealand. The 11,388 registrations year-to-date are down just 489 units on where the brand was at the same point last year. 

If Toyota has shown any vulnerability in its sales this year, it’s in its passenger car tally. The 6971 registrations it has recorded year-to-date represent a 7.7% drop on 2025. 

Some of this reduction can be attributed to the dip in registrations of the brand’s most popular passenger nameplate — the RAV4 — as Toyota moved to introduce a new generation earlier this year. 

So, if BYD, GWM and MG’s new customers have not come from Toyota, where have they come from? 

Comparing 2025’s registrations to year-to-date numbers, Suzuki looks to have suffered the largest drop. Despite offering a full line-up of small, fuel efficient models, the Japanese brand hasn’t been able to capitalise on rising fuel prices. 

After ending 2025 in fifth, it currently sits down in ninth. Mazda and Hyundai have also had a relatively slow start to the year, with Mazda dropping from sixth to 11th, and Hyundai dropping from eighth to 10th.