New-vehicle demand rises

There were 7,110 new passenger vehicles registered in April, which was up by 16.9 per cent from 6,080 units in the same month of last year.

Toyota’s RAV4 was the leading model last month after selling 568 units and accounting for eight per cent of the market. It attracted 696 registrations in April 2025.

The Mitsubishi Outlander was next after recording 257 sales – a year-on-year rise of 1.6 per cent from 253 – and securing a 3.6 per cent market share.

GWM’s Haval H6, pictured, was the third best-seller in April with 245 units and 3.4 per cent of the market. Its sales increased by 199 per cent from 82 a year ago.

Also making big gains to complete the top five were the Toyota Corolla Cross, fourth on 213 units and three per cent, and Kia’s Sportage with 204 and 2.9 per cent.

The overall monthly tally was down 29.2 per cent from 10,037 registrations in March this year, when demand for EVs shot up in response to rising fuel prices because of the Middle East conflict.

Year-to-date, there have been 33,297 sales, which is up by 12.8 per cent from 29,522 at the same stage a year ago.

The RAV4 is the best-selling model so far in 2026 with 1,869 sales and a 5.6 per cent market share. The ASX is second on 1,252 and 3.8 per cent.

Toyota topped the marques’ ladder in April with 1,440 registrations – up 8.2 per cent from 1,331 in the same month a year ago – and 20.3 per cent of the market. 

Kia was second with 595 sales and 8.4 per cent and Mitsubishi came third on 548 and 7.7 per cent. GWM and Suzuki were next on the ladder with 445 and 378 units respectively.

Toyota is the leading marque year-to-date with 5,505 registrations and a 16.5 per cent slice of the market.

Next is Mitsubishi with 2,973 registrations and 8.9 per cent, and Kia on 2,915 and 8.8 per cent.