---
title: "Electric-first car brands in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?"
description: "Compare electric-first automotive marques available to New Zealand drivers, using branded searches made in New Zealand. Hybrid models from these brands are also included in their brand demand. Share of Search among BYD, Tesla, Zeekr, Denza, Leapmotor, XPENG, Polestar and Ora, the electric-first car brands Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-electric-car-brands"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Electric-first car brands in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?

Compare electric-first automotive marques available to New Zealand drivers, using branded searches made in New Zealand. Hybrid models from these brands are also included in their brand demand. Share of Search among BYD, Tesla, Zeekr, Denza, Leapmotor, XPENG, Polestar and Ora, the electric-first car brands Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Electric-first car brands
- **Market**: New Zealand
- **Brands compared**: 8
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: BYD, 36.6%

## Which brand is most popular in search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand?

- In August 2026, BYD was the most searched among electric-first car brands in New Zealand, with an estimated 53.2K branded searches and 36.6% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- Tesla is in 2nd place, 6.4 percentage points behind at 30.2% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, BYD’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand increased from 31% to 36.6%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Tesla’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand decreased from 41.2% to 30.2%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Zeekr’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand increased from 9.7% to 13%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Denza’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand increased from 1.4% to 5.6%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, XPENG’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand increased from 2.4% to 4.7%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Polestar’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand decreased from 8% to 4.2%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, BYD’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand peaked at 44.6% in March 2026 and was lowest at 31% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Tesla’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand peaked at 41.2% in October 2025 and was lowest at 29.2% in May 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Zeekr’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand peaked at 13% in August 2026 and was lowest at 6.3% in January 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Denza’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand peaked at 8% in December 2025 and was lowest at 1.4% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Leapmotor’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand peaked at 6% in June 2026 and was lowest at 3.8% in March 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, XPENG’s estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand peaked at 7.2% in July 2026 and was lowest at 2.2% in December 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, BYD rose from 2nd to 1st among electric-first car brands in New Zealand.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Tesla fell from 1st to 2nd among electric-first car brands in New Zealand.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Denza rose from 7th to 4th among electric-first car brands in New Zealand.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Polestar fell from 4th to 7th among electric-first car brands in New Zealand.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Leapmotor and Ora held steady: their estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [BYD vs Tesla: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/byd-vs-tesla): 36.6% against 30.2% Share of Search.
- [BYD vs Zeekr: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/byd-vs-zeekr): 36.6% against 13% Share of Search.
- [BYD vs Denza: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/byd-vs-denza): 36.6% against 5.6% Share of Search.
- [BYD vs Leapmotor: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/byd-vs-leapmotor): 36.6% against 5.5% Share of Search.
- [Tesla vs Zeekr: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/tesla-vs-zeekr): 30.2% against 13% Share of Search.
- [Tesla vs Denza: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/denza-vs-tesla): 30.2% against 5.6% Share of Search.
- [Tesla vs Leapmotor: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/leapmotor-vs-tesla): 30.2% against 5.5% Share of Search.
- [Zeekr vs Denza: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/denza-vs-zeekr): 13% against 5.6% Share of Search.
- [Zeekr vs Leapmotor: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/leapmotor-vs-zeekr): 13% against 5.5% Share of Search.
- [Denza vs Leapmotor: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/denza-vs-leapmotor): 5.6% against 5.5% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for New Zealand electric-first car brands in August 2026?

- In August 2026, Denza overtook Polestar to rank 4th among electric-first car brands in New Zealand, at 5.6%.
- In August 2026, Zeekr gained estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand, from 9.5% to 13%.
- In August 2026, XPENG lost estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand, from 7.2% to 4.7%.
- In August 2026, Polestar lost estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand, from 5.2% to 4.2%.
- In August 2026, Tesla lost estimated Share of Search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand, from 30.7% to 30.2%.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for BYD in New Zealand rose 68.3% over 11 measured months, from 31.6K to 53.2K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Leapmotor in New Zealand rose 32.7% over 11 measured months, from 6K to 8K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Ora in New Zealand rose 19.6% over 11 measured months, from 460 to 550 in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | BYD | 36.6% | 53.2K | +9.2% | BYD |
| 2 | Tesla | 30.2% | 43.9K | +7.2% | Tesla |
| 3 | Zeekr | 13% | 18.9K | +49.5% | Zeekr |
| 4 | Denza | 5.6% | 8.1K | +20.5% | Denza |
| 5 | Leapmotor | 5.5% | 8K | +8.8% | Leapmotor |
| 6 | XPENG | 4.7% | 6.8K | -29.3% | XPENG |
| 7 | Polestar | 4.2% | 6.1K | -10.8% | Polestar |
| 8 | Ora | 0.38% | 550 | +14.6% | GWM |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Tesla | 42K | 41.2% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | BYD | 31.6K | 31% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Zeekr | 9.9K | 9.7% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Polestar | 8.2K | 8% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Leapmotor | 6K | 5.9% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | XPENG | 2.4K | 2.4% | 6 |
| Oct 2025 | Denza | 1.4K | 1.4% | 7 |
| Oct 2025 | Ora | 460 | 0.45% | 8 |
| Nov 2025 | Tesla | 37.3K | 36.9% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | BYD | 37.1K | 36.7% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Zeekr | 7.7K | 7.6% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Polestar | 7.6K | 7.5% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Leapmotor | 5.1K | 5.1% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | XPENG | 3.2K | 3.2% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | Denza | 2.7K | 2.7% | 7 |
| Nov 2025 | Ora | 410 | 0.41% | 8 |
| Dec 2025 | Tesla | 34.1K | 35.8% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | BYD | 31.6K | 33.1% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Denza | 7.6K | 8% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Zeekr | 7.4K | 7.7% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Polestar | 7.2K | 7.6% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Leapmotor | 4.8K | 5.1% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | XPENG | 2.1K | 2.2% | 7 |
| Dec 2025 | Ora | 460 | 0.48% | 8 |
| Jan 2026 | BYD | 49.3K | 40.2% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Tesla | 41K | 33.4% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Polestar | 7.9K | 6.4% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Zeekr | 7.7K | 6.3% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Denza | 7K | 5.7% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Leapmotor | 5.7K | 4.6% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | XPENG | 3.6K | 2.9% | 7 |
| Jan 2026 | Ora | 570 | 0.46% | 8 |
| Feb 2026 | BYD | 35.8K | 35.9% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Tesla | 34.1K | 34.2% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Zeekr | 8.7K | 8.7% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Polestar | 6.3K | 6.3% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Denza | 5.9K | 6% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Leapmotor | 4.5K | 4.6% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | XPENG | 3.9K | 3.9% | 7 |
| Feb 2026 | Ora | 460 | 0.46% | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | BYD | 105K | 44.6% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Tesla | 73.4K | 31.1% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Zeekr | 18.6K | 7.9% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Polestar | 15.4K | 6.5% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Leapmotor | 8.9K | 3.8% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | XPENG | 8.2K | 3.5% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | Denza | 5.5K | 2.3% | 7 |
| Mar 2026 | Ora | 700 | 0.3% | 8 |
| Apr 2026 | BYD | 91.1K | 43.4% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Tesla | 62.1K | 29.6% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Zeekr | 21.2K | 10.1% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Polestar | 10.9K | 5.2% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Leapmotor | 9.4K | 4.5% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | XPENG | 8.3K | 4% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | Denza | 6.2K | 2.9% | 7 |
| Apr 2026 | Ora | 570 | 0.27% | 8 |
| May 2026 | BYD | 65.3K | 39.8% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Tesla | 48K | 29.2% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Zeekr | 18.8K | 11.4% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Polestar | 10K | 6.1% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Leapmotor | 7.8K | 4.8% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Denza | 7K | 4.3% | 6 |
| May 2026 | XPENG | 6.8K | 4.1% | 7 |
| May 2026 | Ora | 460 | 0.28% | 8 |
| Jun 2026 | BYD | 60.3K | 41.6% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Tesla | 44.6K | 30.7% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Zeekr | 12.8K | 8.9% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Leapmotor | 8.6K | 6% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Polestar | 7.6K | 5.2% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Denza | 5.3K | 3.7% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | XPENG | 5.3K | 3.6% | 7 |
| Jun 2026 | Ora | 460 | 0.32% | 8 |
| Jul 2026 | BYD | 48.7K | 36.6% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Tesla | 40.9K | 30.7% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Zeekr | 12.6K | 9.5% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | XPENG | 9.6K | 7.2% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Leapmotor | 7.3K | 5.5% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Polestar | 6.9K | 5.2% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | Denza | 6.7K | 5.1% | 7 |
| Jul 2026 | Ora | 480 | 0.36% | 8 |
| Aug 2026 | BYD | 53.2K | 36.6% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Tesla | 43.9K | 30.2% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Zeekr | 18.9K | 13% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Denza | 8.1K | 5.6% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Leapmotor | 8K | 5.5% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | XPENG | 6.8K | 4.7% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | Polestar | 6.1K | 4.2% | 7 |
| Aug 2026 | Ora | 550 | 0.38% | 8 |
| Sep 2026 | BYD | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Denza | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Leapmotor | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Ora | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Polestar | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Tesla | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | XPENG | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Zeekr | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **BYD**: Measured on the search terms “atto 3”, “atto3”, “byd”, “byd atto 1”, “byd atto 2”, “byd atto 3”, “byd car”, “byd cars”, “byd dolphin”, “byd new zealand”, “byd nz”, “byd seal”, “byd seal lion 6”, “byd sealion 7” and “byd shark 6”, summed into one figure.
- **Denza**: Measured on the search terms “denza”, “denza car”, “denza cars”, “denza d9”, “denza new zealand” and “denza nz”, summed into one figure.
- **Leapmotor**: Measured on the search terms “leapmotor”, “leapmotor b10”, “leapmotor c10”, “leapmotor car”, “leapmotor cars” and “leapmotor nz”, summed into one figure.
- **Ora**: Measured on the search terms “ora car”, “ora cars” and “ora nz”, summed into one figure.
- **Polestar**: Measured on the search terms “polestar”, “polestar 2”, “polestar 3”, “polestar 4”, “polestar car”, “polestar cars” and “polestar nz”, summed into one figure.
- **Tesla**: Measured on the search terms “cybertruck”, “tesla”, “tesla car”, “tesla cars”, “tesla cybertruck”, “tesla model 3”, “tesla model s”, “tesla model x”, “tesla model y”, “tesla new zealand” and “tesla nz”, summed into one figure.
- **XPENG**: Measured on the search terms “xpeng”, “xpeng car”, “xpeng cars”, “xpeng g6”, “xpeng g9”, “xpeng new zealand”, “xpeng nz” and “xpeng p7”, summed into one figure.
- **Zeekr**: Measured on the search terms “zeekr”, “zeekr 001”, “zeekr 009”, “zeekr 7x”, “zeekr car”, “zeekr cars”, “zeekr new zealand”, “zeekr nz” and “zeekr x”, summed into one figure.

- [BYD](/demand/nz/brands/byd)
- [Denza](/demand/nz/brands/denza)
- [Leapmotor](/demand/nz/brands/leapmotor)
- [Ora](/demand/nz/brands/ora)
- [Polestar](/demand/nz/brands/polestar)
- [Tesla](/demand/nz/brands/tesla)
- [XPENG](/demand/nz/brands/xpeng)
- [Zeekr](/demand/nz/brands/zeekr)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among electric-first car brands in New Zealand?

In August 2026, BYD was the most searched among electric-first car brands in New Zealand, with an estimated 53.2K branded searches and 36.6% estimated Share of Search within this set.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Electric-first car brands in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-electric-car-brands

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-electric-car-brands. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.