Utes are the most popular vehicles in New Zealand. In the table below, we list the top-selling utes in New Zealand based on registration numbers from the NZTA.
Last year, while sales of passenger cars were up 12% year on year, after a couple of years of poor sales, fewer new utes hit the roads. Overall, sales of the country's most popular five utes were down 10%.
This year, while the top four most popular utes remain the Ranger, Hilux, Triton and Navara, it's interesting to see newcomer the BYD Shark 6 make the top five.
Top-selling utes in NZ
Rank | Top Selling Utes | Top Selling Utes |
|---|---|---|
1 | Ford Ranger (9650) | Ford Ranger (3400) |
2 | Toyota Hilux (6568) | Toyota Hilux (2966) |
3 | Mitsubishi Triton (3279) | Mitsubishi Triton (1497) |
4 | Nissan Navara (2446) | Nissan Navara (1274) |
5 | BYD Shark 6 (1882) | BYD Shark 6 (628) |
Source: NZTA – 2026 sales to 31/05/26
Ute sales by engine type
It's no surprise that most utes in NZ run on diesel, but thanks to the popularity of the Toyota Hilux, non plug-in diesel hybrids accounted for 16% of sales last year.
Add to that total petrol hybrids and EVs, and, overall, last year, non-ICE utes accounted for a quarter of all sales, a trend that's continuing this year:
Sales by Engine Type 2025 | Sales by Engine Type 2026 |
|---|---|
72.3% Diesel | 69% Diesel |
15.9% Non plug-in diesel hybrid | 18% Non plug-in diesel hybrid |
8.2% Plug-in petrol hybrid | 9% Plug-in petrol hybrid |
3.3% Petrol | 3% Petrol |
0.2% EV | 1% EV |
0.1% Non plug-in petrol hybrid | 0% Non plug-in petrol hybrid |
Source: NZTA – 2026 sales to 31/05/26
Top-selling passenger cars in NZ
To give the above figures some context, here are the best-selling passenger cars for the same periods, which highlight the ongoing strength of ute sales:
Rank | Top Selling Cars 2025 | Top Selling Cars 2026 |
|---|---|---|
1 | Toyota RAV4 (11,295) | Toyota RAV4 (2165) |
2 | Mitsubishi ASX (4970) | Mitsubishi ASX (1534) |
3 | Mitsubishi Outlander (4309) | Ford Everest (1200) |
4 | Ford Everest (3323) | Toyota Corolla Cross (1185) |
5 | Kia Seltos (3189) | Mitsubishi Outlander (1058) |
6 | Toyota Yaris Cross (2018) | Kia Sportage (1024) |
7 | MG ZS (1971) | Tesla Model Y (1000) |
8 | Toyota Corolla (1953) | Kia Seltos (870) |
9 | Hyundai Tucson (1841) | Hyundai Tucson (788) |
10 | Suzuki Swift (1825) | Toyota Yaris Cross (767) |
11 | GWM Haval H6 (1815) | GWM Haval H6 (700) |
12 | Toyota Landcruiser Prado (1668) | Mazda CX-5 (589) |
13 | Mazda CX-5 (1609) | Kia Stonic (547) |
14 | Toyota Corolla Cross (1476) | Toyota Landcruiser Prado (515) |
15 | Kia Sportage (1360) | Toyota Yaris (503) |
Source: NZTA – 2026 sales to 31/05/26





