Rental influx boosts new vehicle registration numbers for August
Words: Richard Edwards
New vehicle registrations totalled 12,216 units in August 2026, up 4.1% on the 11,736 recorded in the same month last year. As in July, the headline figure hides a split market, with a strong passenger result partly offset by another commercial decline.
Passenger registrations rose 13% to 9137 units, from 8088 in August 2025, the segment’s strongest August since 2022. The commercial sector fell 15.6% to 3079 units, from 3648 a year earlier, although volumes did improve on July’s 2927, consistent with some Fieldays orders spreading into August.
Autocar understands from distributors that totals could have been higher, with typhoon activity around Shanghai delaying vessel departures during the month.
It’s also worth noting rental fleets accounted for 2533 new registrations, equivalent to 27.7% of the 9137 new passenger vehicles registered during the month.
The figure puts a different complexion on August’s passenger result, as close to three in every 10 of those registrations went into rental fleets rather than to retail or business buyers.
Toyota stretches clear as Chinese brands ease off July peak
Toyota led the new passenger market with 2387 registrations, up 20.7% year-on-year and giving the brand a 26.1% market share. Mitsubishi followed with 917 units, up 5.5%, ahead of Kia on 860, up 10.5%.
Mazda took fourth on 460 registrations, down 10.3%, with GWM fifth on 351, up 33%. Suzuki matched its August 2025 result exactly on 346 units, MG lifted 4.6% to 344, and BYD recorded 336 registrations, up from just 62 in the same month last year but well back on its 622-unit July.
Honda rose 20% to 294 units and Ford completed the top 10 with 266 passenger registrations, down 50% from 532 a year earlier. Chery lifted 142.6% to 245 and Jaecoo 142% to 167, while Audi rose 36.2% to 177, Hyundai more than halved to 160 units, down 53.5%, and Geely reached 102 registrations from just five a year ago.
The six Chinese brands on the makes board, GWM, MG, BYD, Chery, Jaecoo, and Geely, accounted for 1545 passenger registrations, up 86.1% on the 830 those brands recorded in August 2025 and lifting their combined share from 10.3% to 16.9%.
Against July, though, the same six brands were down 23.2%, from 2012 units, and both Zeekr and Dongfeng dropped below the top 20 after featuring in July. The month-on-month softening is consistent with the shipping disruption reported by distributors, with most of those brands supplied out of Chinese ports.
Tesla did not feature in the top 20 makes after recording 412 units in July and 908 in June, in line with the brand’s pattern of concentrating deliveries around the end of each quarter.
RAV4 holds top spot as Corolla Cross surges
The Toyota RAV4 was again the best-selling new passenger model with 886 registrations, down from 1039 in August last year. The Toyota Corolla Cross followed on 597 units, up from 141 a year earlier as supply of the hybrid small SUV improved.
The Mitsubishi ASX came third with 475 registrations, up 19.6%, ahead of the Mitsubishi Outlander on 386, up 9.3%. The Toyota Landcruiser Prado recorded 243 units, up 89.8%, with the Ford Everest on 223, down 46% from 413 last August.
The Toyota Yaris Cross (222), Kia Stonic (218), Mazda CX-5 (216), and Kia Seltos (191) completed a top 10 made up entirely of SUVs. The Kia Sportage nearly doubled to 186 units, the GWM Haval H6 lifted 22.7% to 184, and the BYD Atto 3 was the best-placed battery electric model on 107.
Hilux takes the ute crown back off the Ranger
Toyota led the commercial sector with 1115 registrations, up 13.7% year-on-year and a 36.2% share, ahead of Ford on 633 units, down 43.2% from an unusually strong 1115 last August. The reversal extends to the year to date, where Toyota’s 7250 commercial registrations now sit ahead of Ford’s 6998.
Mitsubishi continued its commercial run, lifting 28.6% to 337 registrations, while LDV matched last year’s 115 units. Isuzu fell 32.3% to 109, Mercedes-Benz dropped 44.7% to 104, and BYD rose 89.8% to 93. Nissan’s decline continued, down 59.3% to 59 units.
On the model board, the Toyota Hilux took the top ute position with 890 registrations, up 19.5%, well clear of the Ford Ranger on 571, down 41.6% from 978 a year earlier and reversing last August’s order. The Mitsubishi Triton followed on 337, the Toyota Hiace posted 194, and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter recorded 99, down 38.1%.
The BYD Shark 6 (93), LDV Deliver 9 (73), Isuzu D-Max (71), Nissan Navara (59), and Ford Transit (56) rounded out the top 10. The Kia Tasman, which recorded 108 registrations in August last year, did not feature in this year’s top 10.
Registration data is sourced from Waka Kotahi NZTA.
