Important new SUVs, utes and cars from the biggest auto brands are coming to Australia in 2026, bringing the latest tech and in some cases the cheapest prices with EV and hybrid powertrains leading the way.
Motoring
Australia’s best-selling cars, utes and SUVs for 2025
Australians bought a record number of new cars in 2025, favouring small and medium SUVs and utes while showing a strong appetite for hybrids. EV sales also grew, and while Toyota led the field and Ford Ranger was the best seller, BYD and other Chinese brands are rising fast.
A record number of new cars were sold in Australia in 2025 for the third successive year, passing 1.24 million annual sales for the first time as buyers took advantage of a highly competitive marketplace that’s being heavily influenced by an influx of Chinese brands and models.
Toyota remained the clear market leader and the Ford Ranger held off the Toyota RAV4 and HiLux to retain its title as the number-one vehicle in Australia, but these best-selling brands and vehicles all suffered year-on-year declines respectively in what was a highly challenging year for legacy carmakers.
In contrast, BYD barged into the top 10 with phenomenal sales growth from its fast-expanding plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle range, led by the BYD Shark 6 ute and BYD Sealion 7 SUV, to join GWM and MG on the leaders’ board and pave the way for more Chinese brands to follow suit. China is also now second only to Japan as the most popular source of new vehicles in Australia.
Affordable cars with electrified powertrains, lots of equipment, a long warranty, top safety rating and, increasingly, localisation for Australian conditions is a winning formula and integral to the record 1,241,037 total sales and 0.3 per cent growth achieved across the car industry in 2025.
Here are the key results for the major brands, models, hybrids, EVs, countries of origin and the most important segments based on official figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (VFACTS) and the Electric Vehicle Council.
More: Research and compare new cars, SUVs and utes on sale today in Australia
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Top-selling car brands in Australia for 2025
Toyota remains the dominant force for Australian new vehicle sales, achieving its 23rd consecutive year of market leadership in 2025 as pressure mounted on most brands. The Japanese auto giant fell short of eclipsing the all-time record sales it racked up in 2024, but the 239,863-unit tally was still Toyota’s second highest ever and its market share was a solid 19.3 per cent.
Ford deposed Mazda in the second half of last year to again finish in second place, albeit with a 5.8 per cent downturn overall as its all-important Ranger took a 10 per cent hit – while holding on to its status as the top-selling new vehicle in Australia.
Below the Blue Oval, Hyundai reclaimed lost ground as Mitsubishi faltered and three Chinese brands were cemented among the top 10 – GWM, BYD and MG. BYD was the standout with triple-digit sales growth and a bunch of new models now arriving to help continue its surge up the charts, while several prominent brands – Nissan, Subaru and Volkswagen among them – remain outside the top 10. Watch out for Chery in 2026, too.
2025 Top 10 brands in Australia:
Best-selling new cars in Australia for 2025
The Ford Ranger held on to its title as Australia’s biggest-selling new vehicle for the third successive year in 2025, despite sales of the locally developed ute falling almost 10 per cent compared to 2024. It now faces a tough challenge with the new-generation Toyota RAV4 SUV and Toyota HiLux ute both aiming to overtake Ranger in 2026.
As we saw in 2024, the top-selling new cars in Australia in 2025 were all utes and SUVs, mostly with either a traditional internal combustion engine (petrol/diesel) or, increasingly, with a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain. The Tesla Model Y EV made it back into the top 10, while the Hyundai Kona found solid growth across its ICE, hybrid and battery-electric range to become the nation’s most popular small SUV.
2025 Top 10 cars in Australia:
- Ford Ranger ute – 56,555 (-9.6%)
- Toyota RAV4 medium SUV – 51,947 (-11.5%)
- Toyota HiLux ute – 51,297 (-4.1%)
- Isuzu D-Max ute – 26,839 (-11.1%)
- Ford Everest large SUV – 26,161 (-1.3%)
- Toyota LandCruiser Prado large SUV – 26,106 (+166.3%)
- Hyundai Kona small SUV – 22,769 (+31.1%)
- Mazda CX-5 medium SUV – 22,742 (-0.4%)
- Mitsubishi Outlander medium SUV – 22,459 (-18.7%)
- Tesla Model Y medium SUV – 22,239 (+4.6%)
Hybrid and PHEV car sales in Australia for 2025
An impressive 199,133 new hybrid cars were sold in Australia in 2025 – up 15.3 per cent compared to the previous year. Add onto that a notable 53,484 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which boomed with 131 per cent growth, and the quarter of a million hybrid car sales last year (252,617) represented 21.1 per cent of total new vehicle sales (excluding heavy commercials).
That compares to EVs taking an 8.6 per cent share (103,269 units), diesel cars snagging 30.5 per cent (364,605) and conventional petrol-engine vehicles holding firm as the most popular powertrain choice at 39.7 per cent (475,279).
Despite its hybrid sales slipping around 1500 units last year, Toyota remains a juggernaut in the hybrid arena, racking up around 116,500 petrol-electric car sales last year – 48.6 per cent of the brand’s total sales. Toyota’s first plug-in hybrid, the RAV4 PHEV, arrives soon, but for now BYD is the clear leader for PHEV sales.
2025 Top 5 hybrid cars in Australia:
- Toyota RAV4 Hybrid – 51,869 (-7.2%)
- Toyota Corolla Hybrid – 18,522 (-4.8%)
- Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid – 12,662 (+63.9%)
- Hyundai Tucson Hybrid – 10,556 (+154.0%)
- Hyundai Kona Hybrid – 10,407 (+115.7%)
2025 Top 5 PHEVs in Australia:
- BYD Shark 6 – 18,073 (new model)
- BYD Sealion 6 – 9055 (+46.1%)
- Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – 4110 (-32.9%)
- GWM Haval H6 PHEV – 2542 (new model)
- GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV – 1371 (new model)
More: The cheapest hybrid and PHEV cars in Australia for 2025
Electric vehicle sales in Australia for 2025
Electric car sales are continuing to grow in Australia, cracking 100,000 annual sales for the first time in 2025, but the market has softened – even as a broad range of fresh, and increasingly affordable, models arrive.
More than 100 EVs are now available across 35-plus brands, although few are making significant inroads. Tesla remains the EV market leader with 28,856 sales shared between the lynchpin Model Y and supporting-act Model 3, but BYD is closing fast with a burgeoning EV line-up that last year found 25,287 buyers.
Total EV sales across all brands climbed almost 12,000 units to 103,269 in 2025, marking a 13.1 per cent rise. That said, almost two-thirds of these sales were shared between 10 leading models from just five brands – Tesla, BYD, Kia, Geely and MG.
The year ahead will be instructive with the likes of the BYD Atto 1 city car, Atto 2 SUV, Geely EX2 hatch and other cheap EVs populating showrooms, along with groundbreaking new models such as the BMW iX3.
2025 Top 5 EVs in Australia:
- Tesla Model Y – 22,239 (+4.6%)
- BYD Sealion 7 – 13,410 (new model)
- Tesla Model 3 – 6617 (-61.3%)
- Kia EV5 – 4787 (+687.3%)
- Geely EX5 – 3944 (new model)
More: Australia’s best electric cars and SUVs of 2025
More: The cheapest electric cars in Australia for 2026
Chinese car sales in Australia for 2025
The fastest-growing brands in Australia in 2025 were all Chinese – Leapmotor (+906%), Chery (+177%) and BYD (+156%) – while new entrants included Geely, GAC, JAC, Deepal, Denza, Omoda, Jaecoo and Zeekr. China also remains the source of cars – mostly EVs – for a host of other brands operating in Australia, including all Tesla models.
It’s no surprise, then, that China overtook Thailand (which builds most of the utes sold here) to become the second most popular country of origin, behind Japan. A whopping 252,928 Chinese-built cars were sold in Australia last year, around 3000 more than those produced in Thailand (249,958) but still well behind Japan (358,981) – for now.
BYD cracked into the top 10 brands in Australia in 2025, and Chery also moved in temporarily during the year but finished 13th overall.
2025 Top 5 Chinese brands in Australia:
- GWM (incl. GWM, Haval, Tank, Ora) – 52,809 (+23.4%)
- BYD – 52,415 (+156.2%)
- MG – 41,298 (-18.4%)
- Chery – 34,889 (+176.8%)
- LDV – 14,108 (-11.9%)
More: New cars coming to Australia in 2026
Top-selling small SUVs in Australia for 2025
SUVs accounted for 61 per cent of all new vehicle sales in 2025 and small SUV was the fastest-growing segment, sitting in second place overall behind medium SUV. More than 202,000 new small SUVs were sold last year (+10.9%), while a further 53,292 ‘light’ SUVs were also snapped up.
Demonstrating Australian buyers’ current preferences, the segment-leading Hyundai Kona’s sales were split evenly between petrol and hybrid models (52% versus 46%), leaving just 2% for the Kona Electric (536 units). Hyundai has already moved swiftly this year, slashing Kona EV prices by up to $13,857 in January.
2025 Top 5 small SUVs in Australia:
- Hyundai Kona – 22,769 (+31.1%)
- Chery Tiggo 4 – 20,149 (+950.5%)
- MG ZS – 20,000 (-11.6%)
- GWM Haval Jolion – 19,413 (+36.3%)
- Mazda CX-3 – 15,429 (-16.4%)
More: Hatch vs small SUV: what’s the difference and which is best?
Best-selling medium SUVs in Australia for 2025
Medium SUVs are the perfect size for most Australian new car buyers, who collectively bought more than 312,000 of them in 2025. Almost every new brand arriving in Australia has a medium SUV in its range, while four of the top 10 biggest-selling cars last year were from this segment.
Watch out for more action in this highly competitive category in 2026 as a new-generation Toyota RAV4 hits the road next to all-new challengers like the BYD Sealion 5.
2025 Top 5 medium SUVs in Australia:
- Toyota RAV4 – 51,947 (-11.5%)
- Mazda CX-5 – 22,742 (-0.4%)
- Mitsubishi Outlander – 22,459 (-18.7%)
- Tesla Model Y – 22,239 (+4.6%)
- Hyundai Tucson – 20,145 (+5.7%)
More: 2026 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and PHEV preview
Top-selling large SUVs in Australia for 2025
Large SUV sales climbed almost 10 per cent in 2025 to 164,500 units, thanks in large part to the new Toyota Prado which came close to pushing the Ford Everest off its peak position. As it has in other segments, BYD also plans to shake things up in 2026 with the plug-in hybrid seven-seater BYD Sealion 8 arriving soon – a model the Chinese brand expects to be its biggest seller with 20,000-plus annual sales in its sights.
2025 Top 5 large SUVs in Australia:
- Ford Everest – 26,161 (-1.3%)
- Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 26,106 (+166.3%)
- Isuzu MU-X – 15,458 (-14.0%)
- Kia Sorento – 8745 (-10.7%)
- Subaru Outback – 8384 (-18.0%)
Best-selling small cars in Australia for 2025
Traditional passenger car sales continued to decline in 2025, falling 22 per cent as buyers kept steering towards SUVs. However, small cars remain one of the top five categories behind utes and small, medium and large SUVs – and new arrivals in 2026 will spark renewed interest. In particular, EVs with comparable prices to petrol and hybrid small cars will be an important litmus test for the segment, led by the BYD Atto 1.
Combined sales of traditional small cars with micro and light hatches topped 100,000 units last year, though down 20 per cent compared to 2024.
2025 Top 5 small cars in Australia:
- Toyota Corolla – 18,968 (-21.1%)
- Hyundai i30 – 10,688 (-15.7%)
- Mazda3 – 10,291 (-2.3%)
- MG3 – 8350 (-33.5%)
- Kia Picanto – 7166 (+23.1%)
More: Australia’s best, affordable, new first cars for drivers in 2025
Top-selling utes in Australia for 2025
Australians bought 235,614 new utes in 2025 – 6395 more than the previous year (+2.8%) – with the vast majority of those 4x4 models (212,513, +4.7%). The leading players – Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max – all suffered sales declines, leaving new entrants like the BYD Shark 6 and Kia Tasman to prop up the segment.
For the record, the Kia Tasman finished with 4196 sales across six months of trading. Competition will intensify in 2026 with the new Toyota HiLux, Nissan Navara and Ford Ranger Super Duty muscling in alongside recently introduced budget-oriented Chinese utes like the Foton Tunland V7 and V9, JAC T9, LDV Terron 9 and MG U9. Impactful local suspension tuning for GWM Cannon utes will also come on stream soon.
2025 Top 5 utes in Australia:
- Ford Ranger – 56,555 (-9.6%)
- Toyota HiLux – 51,297 (-4.1%)
- Isuzu D-Max – 26,839 (-11.1%)
- Mitsubishi Triton – 18,900 (+4.6%)
- BYD Shark 6 – 18,073 (new model)
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