EV Sales in New Zealand — April Update

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Compared with March 2025, plug-in vehicle sales dropped slightly in both New Zealand and Australia in April. In New Zealand, 649 cars with a plug were sold, approximately 10% of the market (7.3% BEV — 442 units, 3% PHEV — 207 units). In Australia, 8,628 cars with a plug were sold, making up 9.3% of the market (6.4% BEV — 6027 units; 2.9% PHEV — 2601 units). I just covered Australia in detail. Now, let’s look closer at New Zealand.

Over the ditch in New Zealand, sales of EVs have not yet recovered from the change of government and the loss of the bonus/malus tax incentive. Data from James at EVDB indicate that BEV sales have remained at around 7% for all of 2025 (7.3% in April), while 207 PHEVs were sold there (3% of the market). April was a slow month for the entire vehicle market.

The New Zealand top 10 for April 2025 were:

1. Polestar 2 — 94
2. BYD Dolphin — 36
3. Tesla Model Y — 34
4. BYD Atto 3 — 32
5. Kia EV5 — 25
6. Kia EV3 — 22
7. Honda eN1 — 20
8. BYD Sea Lion — 17
9. LDV eDeliver 3 – 14
10. BMW iX1 — 13

The Polestar 2 is New Zealand’s top selling BEV year to date. This may be due to heavy discounting.

Honda (eN1) and Geely (EX5) have launched new models onto the New Zealand market. For the curious, here is a short video review of Honda’s “close to perfect EV” launching around the world. The narrator, while advertising a BEV, is still pushing hybrids? I expect this car will come to Australia soon — stay tuned.

New Zealand imports many electric vehicles. 107 used Nissan Leafs were imported in April, along with 17 Tesla Model 3s and 3 Model S. So, that makes the Nissan Leaf the highest selling BEV in the country.

What of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles? Over 200 PHEVs were sold into the NZ market — the bulk of the numbers made up of the BYD Sealion 6 (36), Mitsubishi Outlander (27), and Great Wall Motors Haval H6 (25). What, no Shark sightings?

James offers this brief analysis of the New Zealand buyer: They want either a cheap familiar car or an aspirational one — “have awesome weekend adventures and be part of the in-crowd.” So, they are sticking with the known, or a ute! He believes that culturally EVs have not yet captured the buyer’s imagination. They are neither cheap, familiar, nor aspirational. Hopefully BYD can change these attitudes when the Shark arrives.

In the meantime, new models are being launched and advertised and the charging infrastructure is being built out. I’ll close with some local news. I was surprised recently when these new chargers appeared at my local shopping centre. Although not yet in service, they are attracting attention. I was alerted to their presence by a fellow shopper. More and more chargers are making the point that EVs are here to stay and the future is bright and electric.