8 likely changes to the New Zealand car market in 2026. Emerging brands are smashing it. But wait, there is way more to come. While 2025 was tough for some brands, the volume from emerging brands was nothing short of spectacular. While some commentators, Boost Auto included expected emerging brands to be electric first, this hasn’t been the case. There is a caveat here, which we will explore later. Emerging brand volume essentially doubled, added over 8000 units to the

Electrification is a funny thing. Globally we are still moving towards electrification at pace—albeit not at the levels were predicted, but our understanding of what counts as electrification is getting blurred. Ranger PHEV for example, is now named Ranger Hybrid, and the Chery Tiggo 7 Super-hybrid is a Plug in Hybrid. And a Prius—well, that’s always been a hybrid. So now, hybrid can mean a vehicle that cannot move electrically at all, can drive electrically most of the time

This article was written just prior to the government watering down the CCS standard under urgency. There is no doubt that used car importers and used dealers are having a tough time. The New Zealand economy is sluggish, especially in Auckland and Wellington; sourcing stock out of Japan is tough, with increased demand from other countries and the impacts of the clean car standard (CCS) all making sourcing affordable cars difficult. The result is more expensive older cars with

If 2025 was a tough year for your business, perhaps it is time to look at the way you do your business improvement and planning rounds for 2026. For many dealers this is an exercise about financials, whereas it could be a transformative exercise to engage with key managers and to set bold goals. A plan in your head is nothing more than an idea, and yet the best business plan is one that is developed with your team. With this in mind, below is a seven-step plan to assist with

Your newest team member never sleeps. I recently observed an AI agent at work on a dealership inquiry. The inquiry came in at 7:35 in the morning, and the AI response in answering the customer's questions was impressive. It was natural sounding, nudged the lead along, answered the customer's questions, and followed up by e-mail and SMS. It did all the things you would hope that a young, hungry, and professional sales consultant would do before most people have made it to the

Could the arrival of new low cost electric cars transform New Zealand's reliance on cheap imports and kick start the EV revolution?

Fancy an Ora Cat? Not many did, but what was a well-specified and good small electric car is no longer. Call it an own goal on the part of pricing from GWM, but the blame really rests on unfavorable EV legislation. With weak demand, electric vehicles are disappearing from price lists and websites. At the other end of the scale, sir, you enquired about a Land Rover Defender PHEV? You are plumb out of luck. How about a Fiat 500e, an Ioniq 6. Sorry madam, we are out of stock

Repetitive tasks, or tasks that need a fast first draft are perfect tasks for Ai in your dealership. With no special tools other than a phone or desktop you can help your dealership get the jump on the competition. Forget the hours of entertainment with cats singing along to APT by Rose and Bruno Mars, here’s a quick run-down of the five easiest and practical ways to improve productivity of your staff and provide a better customer experience. 1. Customer Interaction and Suppo

Twenty-six years ago, U.S. vehicle production peaked at 13 million units. It has steadily declined since, and in 2023 U.S. production was just 10.6 million units. Trumps tariffs won't stop this decline.

Are new cars getting more expensive in New Zealand. The data might surprise you.

GWM, then Haval, then MG, then BYD, and now Omoda and Jaecoo, all Chinese brands, have grabbed a sizeable part of the new vehicle sales market, in a relatively short period of time. Our last emerging market was Korea. Now the three Korean brands represent 12% of the New Zealand market. Room for one more? Only those with selective memories will forget the shift in perception that took place and the journey that Hyundai and Kia have been on in the last 15 or so years. While it

Are you prepared for the road ahead? We summarise and explore the ways in which the local NZ automotive environment will change before 2030

Welcome to the 2025 Boost Auto annual predictions. What can we expect for the year ahead? CCS pain, more expensive vehicles and a price war!

We predicted that the BYD Dolphin and GWM Ora Cat would be game changers for NZ & Australian consumers. Why did we get it so wrong?

Sell more cars in your dealership with Boost Auto's AutoPlay Tune-Up

At Boost Auto we are prepared to have a small wager that most Dealer Principals do not fully understand their CRM (Customer Relations...

FED is not a meant to be a duty that should influence vehicle efficiency or emissions, but in fact it does, because it penalises fuel effici

5 star ANCAP is awarded without real consideration for other users. “I”, the driver am safer in a 5 star car than “you”, the other road user

There are many things that Tesla does differently; they seem happy to tear up the automotive playbook. The author doubts that they were...

Spring. It brings warmer weather, an election, a change of government, continued stock supply constraints, a softer market, and more clean car changes. Plus, a chance for a strong 2024. Despite the uncertain market, right now is a great time to plan for your business, to make it match fit for next season. Let’s talk about why October is the month to do this, and how you might make this happen. Photo by airfocus on Unsplash Later in the year, it gets hectic; December is always