Cars licensed in New Zealand
By license period, year ended March 1989–2026
| Year ended March | License period | Number of vehicles currently licensed |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 12 Months | 1,267,466 |
| 1989 | 6 Months | 163,339 |
| 1990 | 12 Months | 1,281,623 |
| 1990 | 6 Months | 207,715 |
| 1991 | 12 Months | 1,276,762 |
| 1991 | 6 Months | 263,047 |
| 1992 | 12 Months | 1,250,294 |
| 1992 | 6 Months | 292,618 |
| 1993 | 12 Months | 1,211,990 |
| 1993 | 6 Months | 350,144 |
| 1994 | 12 Months | 1,218,531 |
| 1994 | 6 Months | 381,968 |
| 1995 | 12 Months | 1,261,099 |
| 1995 | 6 Months | 386,035 |
| 1996 | 12 Months | 1,237,218 |
| 1996 | 6 Months | 398,500 |
| 1997 | 12 Months | 1,162,517 |
| 1997 | 6 Months | 512,784 |
| 1998 | 12 Months | 1,198,581 |
| 1998 | 6 Months | 548,078 |
| 1999 | 12 Months | 1,206,641 |
| 1999 | 6 Months | 624,477 |
| 2000 | 12 Months | 1,196,932 |
| 2000 | 6 Months | 680,918 |
| 2001 | 12 Months | 1,159,261 |
| 2001 | 6 Months | 750,219 |
| 2002 | 12 Months | 1,163,994 |
| 2002 | 6 Months | 796,509 |
| 2003 | 12 Months | 1,179,158 |
| 2003 | 6 Months | 830,866 |
| 2004 | 12 Months | 1,215,163 |
| 2004 | 6 Months | 898,415 |
| 2005 | 12 Months | 1,265,319 |
| 2005 | 6 Months | 916,186 |
| 2006 | 12 Months | 1,300,864 |
| 2006 | 6 Months | 940,626 |
| 2007 | 12 Months | 1,381,027 |
| 2007 | 6 Months | 901,167 |
| 2008 | 12 Months | 1,413,000 |
| 2008 | 6 Months | 885,622 |
| 2009 | 12 Months | 1,398,651 |
| 2009 | 6 Months | 930,733 |
| 2010 | 12 Months | 1,366,722 |
| 2010 | 6 Months | 960,288 |
| 2011 | 12 Months | 1,323,994 |
| 2011 | 6 Months | 1,017,364 |
| 2012 | 12 Months | 1,313,776 |
| 2012 | 6 Months | 1,035,695 |
| 2013 | 12 Months | 1,322,546 |
| 2013 | 6 Months | 1,045,104 |
| 2014 | 12 Months | 1,339,013 |
| 2014 | 6 Months | 1,077,715 |
| 2015 | 12 Months | 1,133,265 |
| 2015 | 6 Months | 1,361,426 |
| 2016 | 12 Months | 1,626,182 |
| 2016 | 6 Months | 987,695 |
| 2017 | 12 Months | 1,932,861 |
| 2017 | 6 Months | 790,084 |
| 2018 | 12 Months | 2,096,933 |
| 2018 | 6 Months | 689,847 |
| 2019 | 12 Months | 2,163,615 |
| 2019 | 6 Months | 668,083 |
| 2020 | 12 Months | 2,167,544 |
| 2020 | 6 Months | 670,695 |
| 2021 | 12 Months | 2,274,615 |
| 2021 | 6 Months | 599,241 |
| 2022 | 12 Months | 2,340,380 |
| 2022 | 6 Months | 560,590 |
| 2023 | 12 Months | 2,365,814 |
| 2023 | 6 Months | 525,350 |
| 2024 | 12 Months | 2,413,266 |
| 2024 | 6 Months | 526,508 |
| 2025 | 12 Months | 2,439,549 |
| 2025 | 6 Months | 541,854 |
| 2026 | 12 Months | 2,383,267 |
| 2026 | 6 Months | 600,270 |
Definitions
Licensing: the payment of a fee to use your vehicle on public roads. The fee helps to pay for roading projects and road safety programmes. It is sometimes referred to as 'rego' but is not to be confused with registration.
Registration: the addition of a vehicle's details to the Motor Vehicle Register and the issuing of number plates.
Cars: Passenger cars and vans not used as taxis or rentals.
Rental cars: Passenger cars and vans used for rental.
Taxis: Passenger cars and vans used as taxi or commercial passenger service.
Trucks: Goods vans/trucks/utility vans.
Trailers (including caravans): Trailer/caravans, and trailers not designed for highway use.
Exempt vehicles: Agricultural machines, mobile machines, ATVs and any other vehicles under exempt Class A and exempt class B (https://nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/factsheets/27/docs/27-exempt.pdf).
Data provided by
Dataset name
Transport Vehicle Registrations Data: Motor Vehicles Currently Licensed by Type (Annual-Mar) March 2026
Webpage:
https://infoshare.stats.govt.nz/
How to find the data
At URL provided, select 'Industry sectors > Transport - TPT > Motor Vehicles Currently Licensed by Type (Annual-Mar)'. Discontinued vehicle types were unselected before downloading this dataset.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Transport Vehicle Registrations Data: Motor Vehicles Currently Licensed by Type (Annual-Mar) March 2026
From the dataset Transport Vehicle Registrations Data: Motor Vehicles Currently Licensed by Type (Annual-Mar) March 2026, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 4-42
- Columns: 2-40
- Provided: 1,521 data points
This data forms the table Transport - Motor vehicles currently licensed by type (Annual) 1988–2026.
Dataset originally released on:
April 20, 2025
About this dataset
Transport vehicle registrations record motor vehicles currently licensed by type, and new and ex-overseas motor vehicles registered by type.
Method of collection/Data provider
This dataset was compiled based on information collected and administered by the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).