Top Selling Electric Cars in New Zealand

Electric cars and hybrids are now common sights on our roads, and the pure EV brands of BYD and Tesla are two of the nation’s top selling passenger car brands.

In 2023, BYD sold 3715 cars, securing the No.10 spot on the list of the year’s best selling car marques, and Tesla shifted 4907 Model Ys and Model 3s, placing it at No.8.

In 2022, EV and hybrid cars accounted for just over a third of all new car registrations. And last year that percentage increased to 41%. Overall, pure EV models increased from a 10% market share in 2022 to 14.5% in 2023.

Although given the scrapping of the Clean Car Discount, and the introduction of Road User Charges for PHEV and EV drivers, it will be interesting to see if electric and hybrid sales experience continued growth throughout 2024.

While hybrid sales are holding steady, it’s already evident that EV sales have plummeted. Just 3.5% of vehicles sold so far this year were EVs, compared to 12% in the first four months of last year.

Top selling totally electric vehicle models:

This year’s total EV sales are well down on last December’s, when the top selling car, the MG 4, shifted 623 units, and the 10th placed car, the Ford Mustang Mach-E sold 90 cars. In a rush to beat the Clean Car Discount shut-off date, a record 3361 EVs were sold in the last month of 2023, compared to a total of 1343 in the first four months of this year.

However, it’s still early days, and there are some interesting new additions to the best selling EV car list, notably the BYD Seal, the Omoda E5 and the new EVs from Toyota, the bZ4X, and Subaru, the Solterra:

→Related article: Best Hybrid Cars in New Zealand

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Most popular electric cars in New Zealand

Tesla Model Y (from $65,900)

The Model Y comes in three versions (range/top speed/0-100km):

• Rear-wheel drive: 455km | 217km/h | 6.9s
• Long-range AWD: 533km | 217km/h | 5s
• Performance: 514km | 250km/h | 3.7s

All models come with an eight-year battery warranty, or 160,000km for the Real-Wheel Drive model and 192,000km for the AWD and Performance models, whichever comes first.

BYD Atto 3 (from $55,990)

The Atto 3 comes in three versions (range/0-100km):

• Standard: 345km | 7.3s
• Extended: 420km | 7.3s
• Tachyon: 420km | 7.3s

The Tachyon is essentially the Extended model, but with with a cosmetic makeover. Atto 3 batteries come with a warranty of 8 years / 160,000kms, whichever comes first.

MG 4 (from $46,990)

The MG 4 comes in four standard versions (range/0-100km):

• Excite 51: 350km | 7.7s
• Excite 64: 450km | 7.2s
• Essence 64: 435km | 7.2s
• Long Range 77: 530km | 6.5s

The Essence and Long Range models come with greater levels of luxury and improved safety features. Also available is the MG4 XPower performance model (from $69,990), which boasts sports styling, a range of 400km and can speed from 0-100km in 3.8s. All models come with an unlimited km, seven-year warranty.

MG ZS EV (from $50,990)

The MG ZS EV comes in three standard versions:

• Excite: 320km range
• Essence: 320km range
• Long Range: 440km range

The Essence and Long Range models come with greater levels of luxury and improved safety features. All models come with an unlimited km, seven-year warranty.

Tesla Model 3 (from $63,900)

The Model Y comes in three versions (range/0-100km):

• Rear-wheel drive: 513km | 6.1s
• Long-range AWD: 629km | 4.4s
• Performance AWD: 528km | 3.1s

The battery warranties are 8 years (160,000km) for the rear-wheel drive model and eight-years (192,000km) for the long-range Model 3.

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About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.