In 2017 the company's 68 dealers sold 33,008 new vehicles for a 20.7 per cent share of the market.

It was another record year for Toyota New Zealand as the motor industry continued to grow, with Toyota sales up 5,533 over 2016, an increase of 20.1 per cent over the last 12 months.

Toyota's three biggest selling models were the Hilux ute with 8,111 sales, its best ever annual performance putting it at second place for sales on the 2018 top ten models. The Corolla was the top selling vehicle in December with 1,119 sales and it finished third overall for the year with 7,807 registrations.

The RAV4, with 4,633 sales, was the fourth bestselling vehicle of 2018, while the Hiace placed tenth with 2,961 sales.

Toyota led both the passenger and commercial markets in 2017 with a 19.8 per cent and 22.6 per cent share respectively.

During 2017, Toyota launched or updated nine models, including the Prado, Hilux, C-HR, Corolla sedan, Highlander, Chris Amon edition 86, Prius C, Yaris and Land Cruiser 200.

In 1988 Toyota became the top brand in New Zealand for the first time and has not looked back, maintaining its position as market leader for 30 consecutive years.

Toyota attributes this success to them having a combination of a wide model range to meet the needs of all buyers and a formidable reputation for rugged reliability from its commercial vehicles. Over the last 3 decades Toyota's 4WDs in particular have enabled them to stay at the top.

"We'd like to thank our loyal customers across New Zealand and our dealer network for their support in not just 2017 but over the last 3 decades," said Steve Prangnell, the General Manager of Sales who is moving out of New Vehicle sales and into a new role.

Mr Prangnell has been the GM for New Vehicle Sales for the last 12 years. His successor is Neeraj Lala who returns to Toyota New Zealand after nearly three years with Toyota USA.

Mr Lala expects Toyota to remain the sales leader in 2018. "We have another exciting year ahead with a number of significant new model launches, including a new updated Hilux, with even more models to appeal for our urban customers" he said.

"We expect the market growth to continue, particularly in the SUV segment where we have six models and the Hilux and Hiace light commercials to meet people's needs."