EVs Outsell Gas Cars in Australia for the First Time as Chinese Models Flood the Market
·
03.09.2026 18:11
·
2 min read
In August 2026, Australia’s car market saw a historic shift: sales of fully electric vehicles outpaced gasoline-powered cars for the first time. Australians bought 27,100 EVs during the month, giving them a record 24.9% share of all new car registrations.
For comparison, 25,824 gasoline and 23,608 diesel cars were sold in the same period. Adding plug-in and traditional hybrids to the pure EV tally brings electrified vehicles to 51.8% of the market, meaning cars with conventional internal combustion engines were in the minority for the first time.
Market Bestseller and Chinese Factory Dominance
The Tesla Model Y crossover was the absolute sales leader across all models, with 6,414 units sold. The EV outsold long-time Australian favorites like the Toyota RAV4 (5,470 units) and the Toyota HiLux pickup (4,833 units).
As CarExpert notes, nearly the entire top-selling EV list consists of cars built in China. The bestsellers include the BYD Sealion 7, Geely EX5, Zeekr 7X, Jaecoo J5, Geely EX2, BYD Atto 2, and both Tesla models, which are supplied to the continent from the Shanghai Gigafactory.
In the overall brand rankings, China’s BYD took second place in the country with 8,231 vehicles, trailing only Toyota. Overall, Chinese-made vehicles accounted for more than 40% of Australia’s entire car market.
Why Sales Surged
The main driver behind the 170% year-over-year surge is the absence of trade barriers. Unlike the US and the European Union, Australian authorities have not imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese EVs.
According to Electrek, healthy competition has saturated the market: local drivers now have access to around 200 different electric models across all price segments, from budget city hatchbacks to premium SUVs.
