What we've long suspected to be happening is real: China now owns Australia's new-car market.

The latest new car sales data for June 2026 is out and - on top of it being our biggest month for new car sales since 2017 - it confirms China is now officially Australia’s leading source of new vehicles.

Driven by an absolute tidal wave of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, vehicles sourced from China accounted for a whopping 46,592 sales last month - commanding 35.5 percent of the new-car market.

Japan took second place at 20.7 percent (27,098 sales), followed by Thailand (17.8%), Korea (11.3%), and Germany (4.4%).

And while Toyota managed to maintain its spot as the overall market leader with 19,124 sales, BYD is closer than ever.

BYD finished a mere 243 units behind Toyota with a record-breaking 18,881 deliveries. It securely held onto second place on the brand ladder, pulling in double the sales of third-placed Ford (9,181).

The BYD Sealion 7 and Tesla Model Y. Photo: James Coleman.

Tesla also smashed its own records, coming in fourth overall with 8,670 deliveries - up 88.9% year-on-year. Its Model Y remains Australia's best-selling vehicle overall, with 8092 deliveries.

The traditional heavyweights of the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux are still up there too - in second and third place respectively with 5,999 and 5,175 new sales.

But the Chinese-built newcomers are rapidly ascending.

The new BYD Sealion 7 mid-size electric SUV had a massive month, toppling the Toyota RAV4 to take fourth spot overall with 4,730 deliveries, while the BYD Shark 6 ute rounded out the top five with 3,398 sales.

From here it goes to the Isuzu D-Max (2740 sales) and the Hyundai Kona (2505), before the rest of the top-10 list returns to the Chinese with the BYD Atto 2 (2482) and GWM Haval Jolion (2446).

The make leaderboard:

For easy reference, here are how the brands shook out in June 2026:

1. Toyota – 19,124
2. BYD – 18,881
3. Ford – 9,181
4. Tesla – 8,670
5. Kia – 8,005
6. Hyundai – 7,480
7. Mazda – 7,278
8. GWM – 6,104
9. MG – 5,001
10. Chery – 4,505

Omoda, one of Chery's brands. Photo: James Coleman.

The model leaderboard:

And the models:

1. Tesla Model Y - 8072
2. Ford Ranger - 5999
3. Toyota HiLux - 5175
4. BYD Sealion 7 - 4730
5. Toyota RAV4 - 4115
6. BYD Shark 6 - 3398
7. Isuzu D-Max - 2740
8. Hyundai Kona - 2505
9. BYD Atto 2 - 2482
10. GWM Haval Jolion - 2446

The biggest month since 2017

A massive 140,058 new vehicles were delivered to Australian customers in June (combining VFACTS data and the Electric Vehicle Council’s report), making it the single best month for new car sales in Australia since 2017 (and up 7 percent on June last year).

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) captured a massive 23.3% of the total market last month. To put that into perspective, BEVs held just a 7.6% share in June last year. EV market share has grown every single month this year, skyrocketing from 8.4% in January to 23.4% in June - an almost threefold increase in just six months.

Hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) also went gangbusters, up 35% and 158% year-on-year respectively.

PHEV demand has hardly slackened, even after the FBT incentive ended in April. Photo: James Coleman.

"A permanent shift"

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive Tony Weber didn't mince words, calling the June result a paradigm shift.

“The Australian automotive market has shifted on its axis during the first months of 2026," Weber said.

"This year is likely to represent a significant turning point for the Australian automotive industry."

He also noted global volatility around fuel prices have had a permanent effect on the EV market.

“While these factors have had a short-term impact, part of the EV growth would appear to be a permanent structural shift," he said.

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