What the data shows.

Hybrid and EV prices rising; petrol and diesel softening.

Fuel-efficient vehicles are commanding a significant premium as buyers prioritise running cost over purchase price. Petrol and diesel sellers are discounting to compete as buyer priorities shift.

Hybrid owners are holding – not selling.

Hybrid share of new listings dropped from 18.1% to 12.3% post-crisis. Owners know their cars are worth more and are not listing. The inverse is true for petrol and diesel, where supply is building as owners rush to trade down.

EVs attracting the highest buyer interest.

34.5 average watchlists per EV listing, against 23.6 for petrol and 17.1 for hybrids. Concentrated buyer attention chasing a thin EV pool nationally.

Sub-$25k eco vehicles are the most contested segment.

Toyota Aqua, Prius, and Nissan Leaf are the volume anchors of the accessible eco market and the models most likely to see continued upward price pressure if the crisis persists.

The eco premium is unwinding, but not gone.

Hybrid and electric asking prices have come off their crisis peaks as supply fears ease, yet both remain well above pre-crisis levels. Buyers still value fuel efficiency, just less frantically.

Hybrid owners are listing again.

Hybrid share of new listings has recovered from 12.3% at the crisis low to 15.9% as owners take profits while prices stay elevated, releasing the supply squeeze that amplified the premium.

Diesel is the exception: values still sliding.

Used diesel asking prices keep falling and now sit 10.9% below pre-crisis, consistent with diesel fuel having surged around 200% during the crisis. Buyers are still steering away.

The eco premium is still there, but it is narrower than June.

Hybrid medians have moved from $19,989 to $18,980 and electric from $33,993 to $31,599. Buyers still pay up for fuel efficiency, but the pricing lift has cooled compared with the spring shock.

Hybrid supply has slipped back under pressure.

Only 10.5% of the last 30 days' new listings are hybrid, down from 15.9% in the June update and well below hybrids' 18.1% share of active stock. The squeeze that lifted prices in June has not fully unwound.

Petrol is still the volume anchor and is now moving at the lowest median.

The recent median petrol listing is $13,990, down from $14,980 in June. Petrol is 59.8% of active stock and 33.5% of new listings in the last 30 days, so it still sets the tone for most of the market.

Diesel is still the laggard, while EV demand stays concentrated.

Recent diesel medians have fallen to $27,000, but diesel still makes up 12.5% of the last 30 days' new listings and 19.5% of active stock, so it remains the slowest segment to clear. EVs are thin at 1.7% of recent new listings, yet still attract 25.5 watchlists per listing, the strongest buyer attention of the four fuels.

Regional dominance varies enormously.

The main centres are fragmented and the regions are concentrated. Auckland's largest dealer holds just 2.2% share, while in some regions a single dealer holds a third of all stock. Genuine local market power, invisible at a national level.

Franchises own their badge; independents own the volume.

A single franchise dealer can hold around 15% of every record for its marque, while high-volume Japanese makes are so widely traded that the biggest seller holds under 2%. The structure of the trade, made visible.

Trade versus private, measured.

About two-thirds of current market stock is dealer-listed and a third private, a market-structure split that price data alone cannot show.

The same car, on both sites.

Matching registration plates across sources finds many cars advertised on both market sites, overwhelmingly private sellers hedging across both marketplaces rather than dealers.