New Zealand’s Best-Selling Motorcycle of 2025: What Took the Top Spot

The data is in an we now know what the top-selling motorcycle of 2025 was for the New Zealand market - and we might have to eat our hats on this one...

The 2025 year was a rough one for many motorcycle manufacturers and with a total of only 7,017 motorcycles over 60cc being registered according to NZTA data. But one bike stood out as the clear favourite among New Zealand riders - the CFMOTO 450MT.

Now, back in April last year, we published an article questioning if a multi-month dip in sales spelt the end of the 450MT craze in the NZ market, but with a massive rebound over the remaining months of the year, the little adventure bike stormed to the top of the charts with 371 bikes registered in the 2025 calendar year.

By comparison, the CFMOTO's most direct competitor until the Moto Morini AllTrHike arrived in November was the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, which only saw 129 registrations in the same period, while Yamaha's Tenere 700 - the bike which people love to also compare it to - sold 98 units.

CFMOTO's success seems to reflect the New Zealand market in 2025 well, with multiple brands seeing small-capacity motorcycles under $11,000 as their top-selling units.

Aprilia's RS457 was its top seller with 57 registrations - more than double its next best seller, the Tuareg 660.

The trend continued with Triumph's Speed 400 (95) and Scrambler 400 variants (99) selling a combined 194 bikes compared to the Tiger Sport line, which saw 76 registrations by comparison.

Bucking the trend, Harley's LAMS models sold just 25 examples of the X platform according to NZTA data. By comparison, the brand's bread and butter Softail platform is listed with 214 bikes. Speaking with dealers, the X line has now been pulled from the NZ market as the competition in this segment was too hot for the little Harleys to be competitive.

Top Road Registered Model/Family By Brand

APRILIA	RS457
BENELLI	TRK702
BETA	ALP
BMW	R1300
BSA	GOLD STAR
CFMOTO	450MT
DUCATI	PANIGALE
GASGAS	EC
HARLEY-DAVIDSON	SOFTAIL
HONDA	CT
HUSQVARNA	FE
INDIAN	CHIEF
KAWASAKI	EX
KTM	390
MOTO GUZZI	V85 TT
MOTO MORINI	ALLTRHIKE
MV AGUSTA	BRUTALE
ROYAL ENFIELD	HIMALAYAN
SUZUKI	GSX250
TRIUMPH	SPEED 400
VESPA	GTS
YAMAHA	TENERE 700