BYD is planning to import used cars from Japan for the New Zealand market and establish a certified pre-owned program under a proposal launched by distributors BYD Auto NZ.

It will become the first Chinese brand in the NZ market with a certified pre-owned program, with used cars – both local and imported – to be refurbished in BYD workshops. They would then be sold through BYD dealerships with a warranty.

The used-car imports would go through the same process, although they will require additional work to ensure compatibility with the NZ market, including fitting the proper charging plug. Japan has the CHAdeMO charging standard while NZ (and Australia) uses CCS. 

NZ buyers of these cars can also access finance from BYD Auto NZ financial services that was launched last month, and will extend to an insurance business later this month.

The Japanese import scheme by BYD is not the first time a major brand moved into the imported used car business in New Zealand.

Some decades ago, Toyota began importing used Toyotas sourced from Japan.

At the time used cars coming into NZ mostly from the Japanese car auctions for resale in NZ were outselling new imported cars. Because Toyota in Japan had a 45 per cent market share in Japan, Toyota NZ was sitting on the sidelines watching their own cars making up roughly a third of the cars being imported by independent importers and independent dealers.

Toyota NZ was able to source used Toyotas directly from its Japanese network and shipped them to the Shakey Isles.

It converted a former car assembly plant at Thames into a reconditioning centre to ensure only high quality used cars reached the public. Toyota with its dealers set up a used car network under the brand Signature Class and these used cars were bought by Toyota dealers for stock.

At the time, when some rationalisation of the network was under way, some dealers who lost their Toyota new car franchises were allowed to continue as Signature Class dealers with ongoing access to the car from Thames.

These days Signature Class is no longer an active Toyota NZ used-car program. It was retired as a program in November 2025 and replaced by the broader  Toyota Certified used-car program and most used Toyotas sold through the NZ Toyota dealer network now fall under Toyota Certified.

The Thames refurbishing operation continues and now prepares the Toyota Certified used cars for sale.

Interestingly, such is the residual strength of the Signature Class brand, some Toyota dealer web pages refer to “Signature Class stock”. 

Other mainstream Japanese brands like Mazda, Nissan, Honda and Suzuki do not run official used-car import divisions from Japan. Used models from these other manufacturers arrive through independent commercial importers, auction buyers, and large used-car chains (such as Turners Cars) rather than through the official local manufacturer distributor.

Meanwhile, the idea may not be for Australia. 

BYD Australia and New Zealand – the factory-owned representative – told GoAutoNews Premium that the plan was specific for the NZ market and was not being considered for Australia in spite of the rapid growth in the demand for used EVs in Australia.

The AADA-AutoGrab data from the first six months of 2026 show used EV sales in Australia rose 54.6 per cent compared with the same period in 2025, while total used vehicle sales fell 6.6 per cent.

Australians bought 25,417 used EVs in the period, against a total used-car market of 1,300,018 used vehicles (1,391,227 units sold in the first half of 2025).

EVs also took less time to sell, falling from more than 60 days in January to fewer than 40 in June 2026. EVs, PHEVs and hybrids together accounted for 7.1 per cent of used vehicle sales.

The AADA-AutoGrab report said the increase in used EV sales was taking place alongside rapid growth in Australia’s new EV market.

Australia’s tax treatment of EV company cars has contributed to the growth of EVs entering fleets and salary packaging arrangements since 2022, which will impact on the volume of EVs for sale at the end of the lease period.

The report said the amount of ex-fleet EV stock entering the market will increase as the much larger volumes registered in recent years reach replacement age.

BYD Atto 3