Drive Electric’s September figures show battery EVs and plug-in hybrids reached 25.2% of new light-vehicle registrations. The category definitions matter: range-extenders are excluded from the headline plug-in total.
Drive Electric’s NZTA-based dashboard records 2,662 new battery EVs and 1,468 plug-in hybrids in September. Together they were 25.2% of new light vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, versus 9.1% a year earlier. Passenger cars alone had a 28.7% plug-in share. These are registrations, not orders or a buyer survey.
The categories matter: a non-plug-in hybrid is outside the 25.2%. Range-extenders, whose engine acts as a generator, are also excluded from the BEV/PHEV headline. The light-vehicle headline excludes heavy trucks, buses, mopeds and motorcycles, although detailed tables list them.
Tesla Model Y led the BEV table with 588, followed by BYD Atto 2 with 172 and MG 4 with 165. One month of first registrations can shift with supply, delivery timing and fleets; it is not a reliability or resale-value ranking.
For buyers, compare like vehicle classes and powertrains. If researching a range-extender such as a Leapmotor, do not infer its sales from the BEV/PHEV headline; check the published definitions and model-level data. September totals say nothing by themselves about reliability or future demand.
EVs and Beyond, September registration analysis (7 Oct 2026) · Drive Electric, latest NZ registration figures and definitions · NZTA, motor vehicle registrations dashboard and open data