Chinese Brands Take Half of Australia’s Top 10 in August as EV Sales Hit Record

On Sept. 3, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) released data showing new-vehicle registrations in Australia reached 100,939 units in August 2026, up 0.4% year on year.

Including brands such as Tesla and Polestar that are not covered by the VFACTS reporting system, Australia’s total sales across all channels reached 108,760 units, up 4.9% YoY.

Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales reached 27,089 units in August, accounting for 24.9% of the overall new-vehicle market. Sales surged 171% YoY to a record monthly high for BEVs in Australia.

Within the VFACTS reporting scope, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) accounted for 10.5% of August sales, while conventional hybrids represented 18.5%.

As Australia’s new-energy vehicle market expands, Chinese brands are continuing to increase their market share.

China was also Australia’s largest source of new vehicles in August, with 43,891 China-built vehicles registered, accounting for 43.5% of the market.

By comparison, 24,892 vehicles were built in Japan, 15,658 in Thailand and 11,060 in South Korea.

A survey previously released by the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) projected that Chinese brands could account for about 58% of Australia’s new-vehicle market by 2035.

Chinese brands occupied half of the top 10 brands by sales, with BYD, Great Wall Motor, MG, Geely and Chery combining for 26,610 units, equivalent to 24.5% of August sales on a consolidated market basis.

Chinese brands also accounted for five of the top 10 best-selling models: the BYD Sealion 7, Chery Tiggo 4, Geely EX5, GWM Haval Jolion and Zeekr 7X.

BYD registered 8,231 vehicles in August, up 68.7% year on year, remaining Australia’s second-best-selling brand for the fourth consecutive month.

Great Wall Motor sold 4,870 vehicles, up 8.5% year on year, moving up to sixth place from seventh in the previous month.

SAIC’s MG recorded 4,767 registrations in August, up 21.4% year on year, bringing its cumulative sales for the first seven months of the year to 32,197 units.

Geely and Chery ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, with August registrations of 4,504 and 4,238 units, up 1,023% and 28.2% year on year, respectively.

Toyota remained the market leader with 19,712 registrations in August and a 19.5% market share. The other brands in the top 10 were Kia, Mazda, Hyundai and Ford.