Toyota has taken out four of the top five selling vehicles in May, with its HiLux back on top and the continued success of its hybrids.
The FCAI sales figures for May showed the HiLux was the best-selling vehicles piping the popular Ford Ranger although overall vehicle sales and specifically large utes were slightly down on 2024.
Toyota was the market leader with sales of 23,576 during May, maintaining their sales from 2024 and selling one in five of all vehicles, in a market that saw Chinese newcomers like BYD and Chery record some of the strongest growth.
Toyota’s’ RAV 4 held third place overall for the month and showed the continued popularity of hybrids as bridging technology for lower emissions, as they continued to climb up 18 per cent in 2025 compared to last year.
SUV’s were also the most popular vehicle type, now making up 60 per cent of all vehciles.
Plug-in hybrids are also double the number they sold last year while battery EVs have not matched 2024’s boom year and so far in 2025 have sold only 23, 585 vehicles,, a drop of 42 per cent on 2024.
The FCAI figures do not include Tesla sales.
However figures from the Electric Vehcile council indicate EVs experienced their first year on year growth of 2025 up 10.4 per cent on May 2025, and accounting for 9.2 per cent of new vehicles sold.
According to Drive.com.au this was driven by a resurgence in Tesla deliveries, up 9.4 per cent year-on-year to 3897 cars and the updated Model Y SUV that accounted for 91 per cent of its total.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says despite cost-of-living pressures continuing, the market remained resilient.
“While down 5.2 per cent compared to the same month in 2024, the results reflect a market that remains resilient and competitive by historic standards,” he says
“The fundamentals of the market remain robust, with strong competition and consumer interest across a range of vehicle types.”
Luxury Car tax
The FCAI is also taking the opportunity to add its voice to the European Australian Business Council and other automotive industry bodies to axe the Luxury car tax, specifically for European cars.
They want a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the European Union to end the outdated Luxury Car Tax and the elimination of a 5 per cent tariff imposed on vehicles from the EU.
“Australia’s automotive sector strongly encourages all participants to deliver a trade outcome that is future-focused rather than prolonging outdated and inefficient policy arrangements, and one that allows Australians to share in world-leading mobility, safety and environmental technologies at the lowest possible prices,” Weber says.
Toyota was the market leader over Ford (8,464), Mazda (7,845), Kia (6,903) and Hyundai (6,708).