NZ Market edition
Chinese EVs in New Zealand, measured.
The Cathay EV intelligence base, pointed at the New Zealand market: who really makes each car, what the Chinese original tells us, and local pricing as our ledger fills in.
The BYD Dolphin - a New Zealand EV bestseller. Image: JustAnotherCarDesigner, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The New Zealand brief
What the New Zealand EV conversation is talking about this week, tracked by the live Cathay radar.
Radar heat: mention strength in the New Zealandsource pack, relative to the pack's top story. Links go to the original publisher.
On sale in New Zealand
The Chinese-brand models on New Zealand sale, joined to our UK intelligence base. Local prices land here as the facts ledger records them.
| Car | Local price | UK reference | Range | Rapid | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYD Atto 3 元PLUS BYD · made by BYD 比亚迪 | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £36,990 OTR reference UK | 260mi WLTP UK | 88kW peak DC | On sale |
| BYD Dolphin 海豚 BYD · made by BYD 比亚迪 | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £26,205 OTR reference UK | 211mi WLTP UK | 88kW peak DC | On sale |
| BYD Seal 海豹 BYD · made by BYD 比亚迪 | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £45,705 OTR reference UK | 354mi WLTP UK | 150kW peak DC | On sale |
| BYD Sealion 7 海狮07 EV BYD · made by BYD 比亚迪 New Zealand launch timing needs check. | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £47,025 OTR reference UK | 312mi WLTP UK | 230kW peak DC | Estimated |
| BYD Seal U 宋PLUS DM-i BYD · made by BYD 比亚迪 Sold in New Zealand as the Sealion 6 DM-i - timing needs check. | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £34,995 OTR reference UK | 78mi EV range UK | 18kW peak DC | Estimated |
| MG4 EV MULAN 木兰 MG · made by SAIC 上汽 | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £26,995 OTR reference UK | 270mi WLTP UK | 135kW peak DC | On sale |
| MG ZS EV (EV 版) MG · made by SAIC 上汽 New Zealand range is shifting to the MG S5 EV - check local stock. | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £30,495 OTR reference UK | 273mi WLTP UK | 76kW peak DC | Estimated |
| GWM Ora 03 欧拉 好猫 GWM · made by Great Wall 长城 Sold in New Zealand as the GWM Ora. | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £24,995 OTR reference UK | 261mi WLTP UK | 80kW peak DC | On sale |
| XPeng G6 小鹏 G6 XPeng · made by XPeng 小鹏 XPeng has announced New Zealand entry - on-sale timing needs check. | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £39,990 OTR reference UK | 326mi WLTP UK | 451kW peak DC | Estimated |
| Polestar 2 极星 2 Polestar · made by Geely 吉利 | No data yet before on-road costs NZ | £44,950 OTR reference UK | 406mi WLTP UK | 205kW peak DC | On sale |
Local price: the New Zealand before on-road costs "from" figure NZas recorded in our facts ledger. "No data yet" is deliberate - NZ price tracking started in Aug 2026 and fills in daily; we never relabel a UK price as local. The UK column is the on-the-road reference UK from our UK intelligence base, shown for context only and never converted. Range figures are UK WLTP UK; local range ratings are recorded separately as they land. Rows marked Estimated need a human check - accuracy over completeness.
Also landing there
Announced for New Zealand with no UK counterpart. Specs stay blank until our ledger has them - placeholders, not promises.
BYD's plug-in hybrid dual-cab ute, announced for New Zealand - on-sale timing needs check.
EstimatedLocal essentials
The money, rules and daily realities that make New Zealand its own market - editorially seeded from our localization module, with a source and a checked date on every line.
Money
New Zealand prices are usually quoted before on-road costs (ORC): registration, plates and dealer delivery sit on top of the sticker figure.
Light electric vehicles pay road user charges of NZ$76 per 1,000 km, bought in advance and displayed on the windscreen - budget it alongside a home power bill.
The Clean Car Discount ended in December 2023. There is no current national EV purchase rebate; any page claiming one is out of date.
Regulation
New Zealand recognises ANCAP ratings directly. ANCAP's protocols are broadly aligned with Euro NCAP but the ratings are separate - a five-star Euro NCAP result does not convert to five ANCAP stars.
ANCAP ratings for these models land here as the facts ledger records them - no rating is shown until it is sourced.
The Clean Car Standard still binds importers to fleet CO2 targets, which shapes which EV trims get brought into the country - it is a supply rule, not a buyer discount.
Ownership
New Zealand is a small right-hand-drive market: some trims and colours arrive late or not at all, so the car reviewed overseas is not always the car on the local yard.
RUC is bought in advance in blocks of kilometres and checked against the odometer at warrant-of-fitness time - an extra bit of admin petrol cars do not have.
Charging: ChargeNet, Tesla Supercharger (open sites).
Say it like a local: RUC, clean car, ORC. RUC = road user charges - NZ$76 per 1,000 km for light EVs; clean car = the ended rebate scheme; context only, never a current offer; ORC = on-road costs added to the sticker price.
Coverage note: this page is new and builds daily. The Cathay radar is currently tracking 3 recent New Zealand signals, and the facts ledger records New Zealand prices, ANCAP ratings and sales figures as they are verified. Figures from our UK intelligence base stay labelled UK so you always know which market a number belongs to.