BEV imports tumble

Imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVS) fell by more than 50 per cent in value during the 12 months to June 2025, when compared with the year prior, according to Stats NZ.

The total value of passenger motor vehicle imports for the past year was $4.9 billion, down $1.4b or 23 per cent, from the year to June 2024.

Viki Ward, international accounts spokesperson, says: “Electric vehicle imports saw the largest decline, down by $518 million.”

A breakdown of the Stats NZ data shows the value of BEV imports decreased by 57 per cent and totalled $395m for the year to June 2025.

The total for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) also recorded a year-on-year fall and was down 38 per cent to $234m, while the value of imported hybrids increased by 3.8 per cent to $1.6b.

The combination of all internal combustion engine passenger vehicles decreased 20 per cent to $4.5b.

Ward notes hybrids were New Zealand’s top imported passenger cars in the year to June 2025 and have overtaken petrol cars with a 1.5–3L engine.

Since mid-2020, BEVs, PHEVs and hybrids have gone from accounting for 8.2 per cent of the value of all passenger vehicle imports to 45 per cent in the year to June 2025.

Stats NZ says the number of reduced-emissions vehicles being imported has also increased from 7.3 per cent of the total to 44 per cent.

The value of hybrids alone has increased from 3.6 per cent to 32 per cent of passenger vehicle imports over the same timeframe, and their numbers now account for 35 per cent of the market as opposed to 4.4 per cent five years ago.

Imports of vehicles for the transport of goods, including trucks, vans and utes, fell 17 per cent in the year ended June 2025 when compared with the year prior, despite hybrid vehicles for transport of goods increasing 177 per cent.

Electric micro-transport

The latest Stats NZ figures show electric micro-transport imports – e-bikes, e-mopeds and e-scooters – decreased 23 per cent to $62m in the 12 months to June 2025, while the value of mechanical bicycles increased 14 per cent to $53m.

The number of mechanical bicycles imported remains significantly higher, with 169,814 bicycles crossing our borders during the past year compared with 42,270 electric micro-transport devices.

“Even though there are more mechanical bicycles than electric micro-transport, the import value of electric micro-vehicles is still higher,” Ward adds.