There was a flicker of life in New Zealand’s electric vehicle market last month — but it’s a long way from the glory days of the Clean Car Discount boom.
Fully electric vehicles made up 5.5% of new vehicle sales in May, a solid lift from 3.6% a year ago. But the market remains well below its 2023 high of 13%, when government incentives sent EV registrations soaring.
And while Tesla clawed back some ground with its updated Model Y, the bounce was modest. Just 50 Model Ys were registered in May — a third more than April, but not enough to topple the Polestar 2, which held the top spot with 72 units sold.
Polestar, owned by Chinese auto giant Geely, has emerged as a quiet but consistent leader in a market that used to be Tesla’s domain. The Polestar 2, priced from $59,990, is undercutting the Model Y’s $70,145 base price — and increasingly winning the sales race.
Tesla’s year-to-date sales of the Model Y now sit at 229, well down on the 336 it had registered by this point last year. That’s despite 2024 itself being a bad year for the brand, with Tesla’s New Zealand revenue collapsing from $373.6 million in 2023 to just $143.5 million after the Clean Car Discount was axed and Road User Charges for EVs kicked in.
The broader shift has been sharp. Tesla sold nearly 7000 vehicles in New Zealand during 2022, its peak year. That high watermark now feels more like a historical artefact than a target within reach.
Still, it’s not just brand fatigue or policy shifts hurting Tesla. It’s price — and power. China’s dominance in EV manufacturing is rooted in something deeper than low labour costs: near-total control of the critical minerals supply chain. From lithium to rare earths, China processes the bulk of what powers the global EV fleet.
That industrial leverage means Chinese-backed brands can drop prices aggressively, flood markets with models, and outlast Western rivals in a price war. It’s not lost on Donald Trump either — the US President has flagged strategic access to rare earths and battery materials as a national priority, with eyes on resource-rich regions like Greenland, Africa and even Ukraine.
Back in New Zealand, the flood of affordable EVs from Asia is already reshaping the sales chart. Alongside Polestar’s rise, new entrants like the Kia EV3 (30 units in May) and EV5 (16) are carving out early ground. BMW’s i Series registered 36 sales, keeping the premium European presence alive.
And what of Elon Musk? He formally stepped away last week from his informal role as a Trump administration advisor — a gig overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, or “Doge,” as it was dubbed.
His departure came as Tesla’s US earnings took a hit and questions swirled over his political entanglements. Musk has also openly clashed with Trump in recent days over the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which slashed solar and EV subsidies while maintaining tax breaks for fossil fuel producers.
“There is no change to tax incentives for oil & gas, just EV/solar,” Musk posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
New EV Registrations – NZ, May 2025
- Polestar 2 – 72
- Tesla Model Y – 50
- BMW i Series – 36
- Kia EV3 – 30
- Kia EV5 – 16
Overall, new vehicle registrations in May reached 10,251 — slightly ahead of the same month last year. But with total year-to-date sales down 3% at 51,621, the broader market remains in a holding pattern.
The Toyota RAV4 (3806), Ford Ranger (3505), and Toyota Hilux (3438) continue to dominate the charts — a reminder that for all the electric buzz, old habits die hard.
