China continues to change the Australian car parc with four OEMS registering in the top ten brands for the first time.
BYD, GWM, MG and Chery have surged in the latest FCAI sales figures and are now part of a total of 20,070 Chinese-made vehicles were sold in August.
This figure is 67 per cent higher than in August 2024 and now makes up 20 per cent of the total new vehicles sold in that month.
These figures do not include Tesla’s which are manufactured for Australia in China.
Japan still dominates the imports with market leader Toyota among other brands but China is now closing in on Thailand as the second most important country of origin.
The figures also highlight the challenge for repairers and the need to have access to vehicle information and techniques along with an efficient supply of parts.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said the figures showed how quickly the industry and consumers – are adapting to new options.
“The presence of four Chinese brands in the top ten illustrates the continuing evolution of the automotive landscape in Australia. Consumers have an extraordinary range of vehicles to choose from – more than 400 models, including around 100 EVs,” Weber says.
Electric vehicles represented 6.8 per cent of VFACTS-recorded sales in August, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicles accounted for 3.9 per cent.
The total of 812,447 vehicles sold in 2025 is a decline of 2.1 per cent from 2024.
Toyota was the market leader with sales of 20,791 during August, followed by Ford (8,002), Kia (7,402), Mazda (6,814) and Hyundai (6,322).