EV.NZ summary
The short version
- 3,276 new plug-in light vehicles (under 3.5 tonnes) were registered in October 2026: 1,526 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 1,750 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
- That is 22.4% of new light vehicles, up from 8.8% in October 2025. Drive Electric puts it as more than 1 in 5 new vehicles plugging in, against 1 in 11 a year ago.
- Among new passenger vehicles the EV share (BEV plus PHEV) was 24.7%, up from 9.3%. For utes and vans it was 12.8%, up from 6.7%, but almost all of that was plug-in hybrids.
- The GWM Ora was the most-registered new BEV (112), ahead of the Kia EV3 (98), BYD Atto 2 (91) and MG 4 (90). The Toyota RAV4 led plug-in hybrids on 439.
- Year to date, new BEV registrations are 16,362, up 168% on January to October 2025.
October by the numbers
Drive Electric's monthly registration dashboard, updated on 1 November with October figures from NZTA's motor vehicle register, counts first registrations of new light vehicles under 3.5 tonnes (passenger cars and vans, plus utes and vans). Used imports, re-registrations, trucks and heavy-duty pickups are left out of the headline figures.
| Powertrain | October 2026 | Change on October 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery electric (BEV) | 1,526 | Up 173% |
| Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) | 1,750 | Up 177% |
| Hybrid (non-plug-in) | 5,599 | Up 6% |
| Petrol | 3,342 | Down 12% |
| Diesel | 2,376 | Down 26% |
Hybrids that can't be plugged in remain the biggest group, but plug-in vehicles grew far faster than anything else, while petrol and diesel registrations both fell compared with October last year.
Passenger cars versus utes and vans
| Segment | BEV | PHEV | EV share (Oct 2026) | EV share (Oct 2025) | EV share year to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger vehicles (11,824 new) | 1,481 | 1,436 | 24.7% | 9.3% | 27.6% |
| Utes and vans (2,810 new) | 45 | 314 | 12.8% | 6.7% | 9.8% |
The commercial side tells a different story. Only 45 new battery electric utes and vans were registered in October, down from 57 a year earlier, while plug-in hybrid utes and vans rose from 133 to 314. The BYD Shark 6 PHEV was the most-registered light commercial EV on 197, followed by the Ford Ranger PHEV (47), JAC T9 PHEV (42) and GWM Cannon PHEV (28).
Top models
| Rank | Battery electric | Plug-in hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GWM Ora (112) | Toyota RAV4 (439) |
| 2 | Kia EV3 (98) | BYD Shark 6 (197) |
| 3 | BYD Atto 2 (91) | BYD Atto 2 (129) |
| 4 | MG 4 (90) | Geely Starray EM-i (104) |
Auto Trader NZ notes that the BYD Atto 2 made the overall top 10 for new passenger vehicles, with 91 of its 220 registrations going to the electric version and 129 to the plug-in hybrid. It also points out that the Tesla Model Y, fifth overall in September, dropped back to 74 in October, as Tesla typically delivers most of its cars in the last month of each quarter.
Year to date
From January to October 2026, 16,362 new light BEVs and 12,411 new light PHEVs were registered, up 168% and 122% on the same months of 2025. Over the same period hybrids rose 7% to 38,727, petrol fell 14% to 29,118 and diesel fell 7% to 25,536. Drive Electric's dashboard also lists 2,232 public charging points.
Source
This article is based on the following release. Check it for the full detail and any later updates.
- Latest New Zealand Sales Figures (monthly EV registration dashboard, October 2026) (opens in a new tab) Drive Electric, from NZTA Open Data, 1 November 2026
https://driveelectric.org.nz/latest-new-zealand-sales-figures/ - RAV4 back on top as October new car registrations climb 10% (opens in a new tab) Auto Trader NZ, 1 November 2026
https://autotrader.co.nz/news/top-sellers-for-october-what-cars-are-kiwis-buying
