A Toyota HiLux down 3.21 per cent and a Ford Everest down 3.15 per cent in a single week of Datium’s Australian used-car index, the week to 5 October 2026, reads like a discount for anyone importing a ute or a 4x4 out of Australia. Six weeks of the same index say otherwise: the weekly moves compound to almost exactly nothing. For a New Zealand buyer, the number that did move is the exchange rate, and it moved against you.
The short version
- Six weeks, no net change. Datium’s weekly price changes from 21 September to 26 October 2026 compound to about +0.01 per cent, on our arithmetic.
- The HiLux and Everest falls were one week. The week before, the index fell 1.7 per cent overall; the week after, it fell 3.1 per cent with the Kluger leading the decline.
- Single models swing both ways. The Toyota Kluger fell 6.42 per cent in the week to 12 October and rose 4.82 per cent the next week, a net fall of about 1.9 per cent.
- The Australian dollar did move. It bought 1.2347 New Zealand dollars on average in September 2026, against 1.1206 a year earlier, derived from ECB reference rates: about 10 per cent more.
- Do not time a purchase on a weekly index. Price the specific car, in your own currency, on the day you commit.
What did Australian used-car prices do in October 2026?
They went up and down and ended where they started. Datium Insights publishes a weekly market update on Australian used-car prices, sales volumes and clearance rates. Its overall price change for the six weeks to 26 October 2026 alternated between rises and falls, and compounding the six published figures gives a net change of about +0.01 per cent.
| Week of update | Overall prices | Largest top-15 moves |
|---|---|---|
| 21 September 2026 | +2.0% | Toyota Camry −3.74%, Kia Carnival −3.17% |
| 28 September 2026 | −1.7% | Kia Sorento +4.31%, Toyota Corolla +3.68% |
| 5 October 2026 | +3.9% | Toyota HiLux −3.21%, Ford Everest −3.15% |
| 12 October 2026 | −3.1% | Toyota Kluger −6.42%, Subaru Outback −2.74% |
| 19 October 2026 | −2.1% | Toyota Kluger +4.82%, Mitsubishi Outlander +3.25% |
| 26 October 2026 | +1.2% | Toyota Hiace +11.65%, Hyundai Santa Fe +2.91% |
Datium Insights weekly market updates, overall price change and the largest top-15 movers
Note what the HiLux week actually was: the overall index rose 3.9 per cent that week while the HiLux and Everest fell. A model moving against the market for one week is a data point about that week’s sales mix as much as about the model’s value.
A weekly index that alternates direction is measuring noise. Price the car, not the week.
Is an Australian ute cheaper for a New Zealand buyer now?
No, and the reason is the currency rather than the car. Derived from the European Central Bank’s reference rates, one Australian dollar bought an average of 1.2347 New Zealand dollars in September 2026, against 1.1206 in September 2025. It stood at 1.2331 on 27 October. You pay the seller in Australian dollars, so a stronger Australian dollar is the destination-side cost for a New Zealand importer: the same car costs more in your own money, and the border taxes follow it.
A A$40,000 used ute, in New Zealand dollars
Purchase price only, at the September average rate, before freight, biosecurity cleaning, GST and compliance
A 3 per cent dip in one week of a ute’s Australian price is A$1,200 on that car, about NZ$1,480 at September’s rate. The currency move over the year is about three times as large. We report the level; we do not forecast where it goes.
Does this apply to you?
It applies to dealers and private buyers importing used utes, 4x4s and SUVs out of Australia — into New Zealand, the Pacific, East Africa or anywhere else that drives on the left. It does not apply to an Australian buyer shopping at home, for whom the index is the market itself. Is the car still legal to import? Nothing here changes it: the destination’s own rules on age, compliance and right-hand drive decide that, and our guide to importing a ute or 4x4 from Australia sets them out.
Should you import now or wait for prices to fall?
Neither, on this evidence. Six weeks of data show no direction, so waiting for a fall is waiting for something the index does not show, and committing because of one red week is committing on noise. Decide on the specific car: its condition, its kilometres, its service history and its price in your own currency on the day you commit. When you have one in mind, you can import a car from Australia with the landed figure in your currency before you commit.
Is this just news, or is someone selling you something?
A headline that says “HiLux prices fall” sells urgency to buyers and stock to sellers. The weekly data underneath it says the market moved sideways. We have a commercial interest in you importing a car from Australia, and the honest reading is still that nothing in October’s numbers makes this a better or worse month to do it.
What we could not confirm
On the record
- Datium’s six weekly overall price changes and largest movers, as published on its weekly market updates.
- AUD/NZD averages derived from ECB euro reference rates for the two currencies.
Still not established
- The index basket and weighting. The weekly updates do not set out the composition behind each overall figure, so compounding the weekly changes is our arithmetic, not a Datium figure.
- Model-level prices. The updates report weekly changes for the top 15 traded models, not prices, so a model’s value over the six weeks cannot be rebuilt from the updates.
Sources
- Weekly Market Update 5th October 2026 — Datium Insights
- Weekly Market Update 12th October 2026 — Datium Insights
- Weekly Market Update 19th October 2026 — Datium Insights
- Weekly Market Update 26th October 2026 — Datium Insights
- Weekly Market Update 21st September 2026 — Datium Insights
- Euro foreign exchange reference rates (AUD, NZD) — European Central Bank