![\"2025](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2025-byd-shark-6-03-q0p2.jpg\")
The Finer Details<\/p>\nWhy record EV sales aren\u2019t the most significant part of the 2026 sales upheavalThe News<\/p>\n
For the second time in 10 years the Australian new car\u00a0sales market is going through a seismic shift.<\/p>\n
The Key Details<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s new car sales market is going through seismic change<\/p>\n
The oil price spike has triggered\u00a0an upheaval<\/p>\n
Chinese brands are taking over the centre of the market<\/p>\n
Value and powertrain choice are their weapons<\/p>\n
Most traditional major brands are\u00a0facing\u00a0slumping sales<\/p>\n
The Finer Details<\/p>\n
Back in 2017,\u00a0the local car manufacturing market completed its shutdown, formally ending the era of large\u00a0locally made\u00a0passenger cars<\/a>.<\/p>\n SUVs and dual-cab utes had already\u00a0become the peak sellers, but this was a definable transition point.<\/p>\n It seems likely we will look back on\u00a0March,\u00a0April\u00a0and May 2026\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0moment.<\/p>\n The oil spike\u00a0created\u00a0by\u00a0war in\u00a0the Middle East has driven the popularity of electrified\u00a0vehicles to unprecedented heights\u00a0in Australia, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0causing\u00a0something else even more significant: the breakout\u00a0performance\u00a0of Chinese brands.<\/p>\n The percentage sales growth of the likes of BYD\u00a0in 2026\u00a0(120.1 per cent), Chery (84.3 per cent) and to a lesser extent,\u00a0GWM (23 per cent),\u00a0among the bigger\u00a0Chinese\u00a0brands\u00a0\u2013 along with a\u00a0surge by smaller brands such as\u00a0Leapmotor,\u00a0Omoda\/Jaecoo\u00a0and\u00a0Zeekr\u00a0\u2013\u00a0is reshaping the Australian vehicle market before our eyes.<\/p>\n The Chinese have\u00a0been coming hard for a while\u00a0in Australia, but their combination of\u00a0electric, plug-in\u00a0hybrid, regular\u00a0hybrid\u00a0and orthodox\u00a0vehicles at affordable prices\u00a0at a time when oil price rises are\u00a0exacerbating\u00a0already tough economic times\u00a0has claimed a buyer sweet spot.<\/p>\n They are flooding the centre of the Australian\u00a0market \u2013 small,\u00a0medium\u00a0and large SUVs \u2013 with options.<\/p>\n The rise of the\u00a0Jaecoo\u00a0J5<\/a> to sixth on the sales ladder in May, followed closely by the Chery\u00a0Tiggo\u00a04 is evidence.\u00a0Overall, four Chinese brands are now in the\u00a0VFACTS\u00a0top 10.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom an Australian consumer perspective, the reason why the Chinese work is that now they give a good value for money,\u201d says Ross Booth,\u00a0the global general manager of the vehicle\u00a0retailing\u00a0experts\u00a0at\u00a0Redbook.<\/p>\n \u201cThey also offer quality.\u00a0They’re\u00a0not cheap and nasty.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, just being Chinese is not a guarantee for success.\u00a0Both\u00a0JAC and LDV are down in\u00a02026\u00a0and the struggles of MG are well chronicled. Then there are the underpinning structural flaws of the Chinese auto industry that are driving them to export in ever larger numbers.<\/p>\n But\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0another story and so is the fact that more Chinese brands are landing in Australia\u2019s tariff-free market in 2026 and beyond with large sales ambitions.<\/p>\n That\u2019s\u00a0not great news for some of the most familiar brand names on\u00a0sale in the Australian market\u00a0\u2013 their 2026 performances\u00a0represent\u00a0the flipside of the sales story.<\/p>\n Dominant market leader Toyota\u00a0fell\u00a030.7 per cent for\u00a0the month of May\u00a0and 24.6 per cent for the year,\u00a0while\u00a0Ford (15\/11), Isuzu\u00a0Ute\u00a0(30.5\/2.8), Mazda<\/a> (27.4\/16), Mitsubishi (30.6\/26.4), Nissan (35.8\/32.8)\u00a0and Subaru (32.6\/22.1)\u00a0have also fallen dramatically.<\/p>\n Among smaller players,\u00a0there are\u00a0plummeting\u00a0falls that look like they could be brand\u00a0killers, and most luxury brands are doing it tough.<\/p>\n There are undoubtedly other issues at stake here,\u00a0such as supply and model changeover, (Mazda is moving to a new\u00a0generation of its most important model, the\u00a0CX-5<\/a>) but there seems no doubt the rise in diesel prices especially,\u00a0poses problems for 4×4 ute and SUV-reliant brands.<\/p>\n Diesel vehicle sales were down 26.2 per cent in May and are off 13.1 per cent for the year.\u00a0The Ford Ranger is down 7.9 per cent year-on-year, as is\u00a0the Toyota HiLux, down\u00a010.6 per cent (as it also moves to a new generation).<\/p>\n The Toyota\u00a0LandCruiser\u00a0300\u00a0Series is\u00a0up for the year but off almost 40 per cent in May, while the Ford Everest is down\u00a0on both counts.<\/p>\n Booth argued the price rises have weeded those people out who\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0actually need\u00a0a diesel to tow or haul heavy loads.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my opinion, is\u00a0the fact that\u00a0some\u00a0people used to buy a diesel, because\u00a0that’s\u00a0just what you did. It was a fashion buy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cNow people are looking at it and going, \u2018if I\u00a0don’t\u00a0need a diesel, why would I buy one?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if oil prices revert,\u00a0the old status quo\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0expected to be revived. Too many people have steered a different course. And that\u2019s\u00a0bad news\u00a0for brands that\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0adapt on value and powertrain offerings.<\/p>\n \u201cToyota is too big and has too many strengths to be under threat, it has a huge model range, a lot of hybrids and it has technology in depth to sustain it,\u201d said Booth.<\/p>\n \u201cBut\u00a0I worry about some others, who have a limited product range and are tied into a market that\u2019s evaporating.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not written in stone that\u00a0established\u00a0brands will inevitably fall to the Chinese.<\/p>\n History is not pre-written. In fact, you can see the responses coming from some of those brands now; Mazda\u2019s tie-up with Changan to bring the well-priced 6e and CX-6e EVs to Australia, Nissan\u2019s embrace of Dongfeng as a key supplier of vehicles led by the PHEV Frontier Pro dual-cab ute<\/a>\u00a0and Mitsubishi turning to Taiwan\u2019s Foxconn for an EV<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Road Ahead<\/p>\n In May,\u00a0an EV\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the Tesla Model Y<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0led the Australian new vehicle sales market for the first time<\/a>.<\/p>\n EVs\u00a0also\u00a0accounted for a record 20 per cent of sales in May and electrified vehicles (EV,\u00a0PHEV\u00a0and hybrid) claimed 46 per cent of sales.<\/p>\n There\u2019s\u00a0no doubt the oil price spike backed up by the legislative push provided by the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES)\u00a0and the fringe benefits tax exemption for select EVs\u00a0is\u00a0driving\u00a0new vehicle buyers toward electrification.<\/p>\n But Booth\u00a0remains\u00a0cautious on how quickly (and by how much) EV sales will continue to grow and\u00a0says the reality of recharging infrastructure limitations<\/a>\u00a0will simply prevent some potential buyers from making the plunge.<\/p>\n It\u2019s\u00a0a point widely made this week in the wake of the sales record.<\/p>\n Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief\u00a0executive\u00a0Tony Weber and EV\u00a0Council\u00a0CEO\u00a0Julie Delvecchio were both banging this drum\u00a0\u2013 and\u00a0the two organisations\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0known to agree on much.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the number of EVs on the road continues to grow, charging infrastructure must become more of a priority. Continued investment and enabling policy settings will be essential to ensure infrastructure keeps pace with consumer adoption,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Weber.<\/p>\n Then\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0the simple fact\u00a0no\u00a0EV\u00a0cannot yet\u00a0deliver the towing or carrying performance\u00a0some buyers\u00a0need.<\/p>\n \u201cHybrid and plug-in hybrid are very suitable for the Australian market\u00a0for the next few years,\u201d argued Booth.<\/p>\n \u201cDown the track battery technology such as solid state<\/a>\u00a0should reach a point where EV range performance is so substantial these issues are vastly reduced.<\/p>\n \u201cThen the market will change again.”<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/last-holden-2017-holden-vf-series-ii-ssv-redline-2aw0-dfbe.jpg\")
2017 Holden Commodore SS-V Redline sedan<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2025-jaecoo-j5-ev-01-3sqy.jpg\")
Jaecoo J5 EV<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mg4_urban_ev_0014-hmuc.jpg\")
MG4 Urban EV<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mazda-cx-5-10_cbrunelli-pwuo.jpg\")
Mazda CX-5<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/toyota-lc300-local-02-2sj6-y3ck.jpg\")
Toyota\u00a0LandCruiser\u00a0300\u00a0Series<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/foxtron-ev-concepts-8-yrmf.jpg\")
Foxtron EV Concept<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2025-tesla-model-y-lwb-01-w4rb.jpg\")
Tesla Model YOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists