Market Share: Light Vehicles

EV market share is the percentage of all light vehicles registered each month that are electric (can be charged from an external plug).

EV market share snapshot

Vehicle market drill down

Drill down into light vehicle registrations (by fuel type and vehicle make).

Yearly EV market share

Measuring EV uptake of all light vehicles registered gives the most realistic representation of EV adoption.

NZ imports a high amount of used vehicles (around 45% each year – mostly from Japan) — very few of these are electric. Therefore EV market share of brand new cars is much higher.

It’s important to take these factors into account when comparing with other countries (that tend to import fewer used vehicles).

Market share by fuel type over time

At the beginning of 2020, over 88% of light vehicle registrations in New Zealand were Petrol or Diesel.

Petrol-only vehicles are losing market share to electrified vehicles. Diesel vehicle market share remains strong due to the high number of utes registered monthly.

• Month
• Quarter
• Year

Vehicle registrations by fuel type over time

There is significant variation in the actual number of vehicles registered.

Overall, fewer vehicles were registered in 2024, but diesel vehicles increased (compared to 2023), and electric vehicles decreased.

Electric cars: new vs used imports

Segmenting passenger cars into new and used import registrations shows a marked difference in EV uptake.

Supply of used BEVs from traditional markets (Japan) is very limited (mostly the Nissan Leaf).

CHAdeMO vs CCS

New Zealand EVs have two different DC fast-charge socket types: CHAdeMo (predominant in Japanese used imports) and CCS Type 2. This affects fast-charging infrastructure, as both plug types must be accommodated.

In mid-2022, the two types were split 50/50. Since then, CCS EVs have dominated market share, leading to a 2:1 ratio of CCS to CHAdeMO.

CHAdeMO sockets can be found on the Nissan Leaf, Nissan e-NV200, and Lexus UX300e

Only battery-electric vehicles are charted. Some plug-in hybrids (such as older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs) also have a CHAdeMo socket, but it is unknown how often these vehicles are fast-charged.

EVs on the technology adoption life cycle

The technology adoption life cycle is a theory that predicts the uptake of new technology. It’s based on ideas about the diffusion of innovation and can be presented as a bell-curve graph.

The transition from early adopters to the early majority is significant enough to be called ‘crossing the chasm‘. Some technologies fail to make this transition.

Linear growth is one possible forecast, but it seems unlikely due to the following:

• NZ is at an early stage of EV adoption; many see EVs as a compromise or too early of a technology.
• The future of government policy assisting EV uptake is uncertain.
• Many buyers opt for hybrid cars (used import and new NZ) to save on fuel costs.
• NZ relies on the Japanese Domestic Market for most used car stock. Japan has a good supply of hybrids but very little supply of BEVs (Japan has very low EV adoption).
• Economy – inflation and cost-of-living increases may dampen the mood for new vehicle purchases.
• NZ has an aggressive ute (light truck) market. The market share of these (predominantly diesel) vehicles has shown no sign of changing.
• Reliable and comprehensive charging infrastructure is critical to EV adoption.

See more about the NZ EV adoption curve and how we meet governmental targets.