Car brands from around the world are lining up to release new models in Australia in 2025, targeting the most popular segments including SUVs and utes with electric, hybrid and traditional petrol and diesel power.
Motoring
Australia’s best-selling cars, utes and SUVs for 2025
New car sales in Australia have come off their record pace but remained strong in the first half of 2025. Toyota is still king, and Ford Ranger the top seller, but Chinese EV and hybrid brand BYD is making inroads with its SUVs and ute.
The Australian new vehicle market is hanging tough in 2025, recording stronger-than-expected sales in the first half of the year despite ongoing financial pressures.
Worrying monthly downturns in the first few months were offset by a solid finish to the financial year, when runout deals and improving supplies pushed the industry’s first-half sales to 624,130 units – down 1.4 per cent on H1 2024 but still the second-best on record.
Some major car companies were caught short with limited stock, having anticipated less demand from buyers, but are now expecting an improved performance in the second half. Key indicators include lower interest rates and improving consumer and business confidence, while competition is at the highest level seen in years as disrupters such as BYD overtake some big-name brands and enter the top 10 with new models such as the BYD Shark 6 dual-cab ute.
Long-awaited arrivals like the Kia Tasman ute are also about to launch to place further pressure on Australia’s top-selling new vehicles – the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux – while SUVs remain the top priority for a vast number of brands as buyers continue to move away from traditional passenger cars. EV sales are down but staging a comeback of sorts as market leader Tesla returns to form, while hybrid car sales are booming and Chinese brands are continuing to expand.
Here are the major results at the halfway mark of 2025, based on official figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (VFACTS) and the Electric Vehicle Council.
More: Compare the latest new and used cars, SUVs and utes on sale in Australia
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Top-selling car brands in Australia for 2025 (H1)
Traffic is banking up behind it, but Toyota remains the clear leader with almost 121,000 sales (and a rock-solid 19.9 per cent market share) in the first half of 2025 – lineball with last year and, according to the company, a springboard for growth as it improves supply lines and updates key models such as the Toyota Corolla Cross small SUV.
Mazda returned to second position on the table with steady trading as Ford slipped with lower Ranger volume. Strikingly, BYD is up to eighth place with triple-digit growth for the first half (it was fifth overall in June) and three Chinese brands (GWM, BYD and MG) now figure among the top 10, leaving Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen and other prominent carmakers outside.
Best-selling new cars in Australia for 2025 (H1)
Not even a 15.6 per cent downturn in the first half could topple the Ford Ranger ute as Australia’s most sought-after new vehicle so far in 2025, holding its number-one position as the Toyota HiLux ute and RAV4 medium SUV also faltered.
The top 10 best-sellers are all utes and SUVs, the new Toyota Prado large SUV making its presence felt in fourth overall and the best-selling passenger car, Corolla, left out in the cold at 15th. (The next best was the Mazda3 in 31st position, showing just how far traditional cars have fallen out of favour.)
The Tesla Model Y finished just outside the top 10 with 10,431 sales (-16.7%), although more than 7000 of those were delivered to customers in the last two months of H1 (May and June).
- Ford Ranger ute – 28,311 (-15.6%)
- Toyota HiLux ute – 26,267 (-7.9%)
- Toyota RAV4 medium SUV – 24,034 (-5.4%)
- Toyota LandCruiser Prado large SUV – 15,583 (+345.5%)
- Isuzu D-Max ute – 14,065 (-11.1%)
- Ford Everest large SUV – 12,294 (+9.0%)
- Mazda CX-5 medium SUV – 11,991 (+0.6%)
- Mitsubishi Outlander medium SUV – 11,399 (-21.1%)
- Hyundai Kona small SUV – 11,241 (+25.6%)
- Kia Sportage medium SUV – 10,558 (+0.8%)
Hybrid and PHEV car sales in Australia for 2025 (H1)
Australians bought 119,359 new hybrid cars in the first half of 2025 – a mix of regular hybrid (93,746, +14.9%) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (25,613, +210.2%) – which represents 19.6 per cent of total industry sales. Toyota’s influence here is undeniable, with almost half of its overall sales going to non-plug-in petrol-electric hybrids and its leadership prompting other brands to follow suit.
Hyundai is also performing strongly with its latest hybrid cars, while the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) now in force is encouraging various carmakers to fast-track hybrid models.
The 2026 Toyota RAV4 PHEV is due to arrive early next year, but for now BYD is the clear plug-in hybrid market leader. See our tables below for the full details.
Top five best-selling hybrid cars in Australia YTD (not including PHEVs):
- Toyota RAV4 Hybrid – 23,956 (+0.1%)
- Toyota Corolla Hybrid – 9106 (-4.8%)
- Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid – 6264 (+41.9%)
- Hyundai Tucson Hybrid – 5086 (+6867.1%)
- Hyundai Kona Hybrid – 4799 (+133.3%)
Top five best-selling PHEVs in Australia YTD:
- BYD Shark 6 – 10,424 (new model)
- BYD Sealion 6 – 4375 (+807.7%)
- Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – 2961 (+22.3%)
- GWM Haval H6GT PHEV – 1172 (new model)
- Mazda CX-60 PHEV – 765 (+9.6%)
More: Australia’s best hybrid and PHEV cars, SUVs and utes of 2024
More: The cheapest hybrid and PHEV cars in Australia for 2025
Electric vehicle sales in Australia for 2025 (H1)
EV sales have continued to fall in the first half of 2025, but a resurgence during the second quarter – thanks largely to fresh deliveries for market leader Tesla – has limited the downturn across all brands to 7.3 per cent. That’s based on 47,145 total EV sales in the first six months, which in turn represents a 7.6 per cent share of the overall market.
New EVs coming in the second half of 2025 at the budget end should have a positive influence on the segment, including the BYD Atto 2 small SUV.
- Tesla Model Y – 10,431 (-16.7%)
- BYD Sealion 7 – 3756 (new model)
- Tesla Model 3 – 3715 (-65.0%)
- Kia EV5 – 2765 (new model)
- MG4 – 2268 (-18.2%)
Other relative volume players include the BYD Atto 3, Seal and Dolphin, Geely EX5 and Kia EV3. EVs also now account for 22.5 per cent of prestige car market leader BMW’s overall sales, led by the BMW iX1 and iX2.
More: Australia’s best electric cars and SUVs of 2024
More: The cheapest electric cars in Australia for 2025
Chinese car sales in Australia for 2025 (H1)
The two fastest-growing brands in Australia last year were Chinese – Chery and BYD – and both have moved ahead in the first half of 2025 with triple-digit growth that takes each past their respective volume for the entire 2024 calendar year. BYD has cracked into the list of top 10 brands, joining GWM and MG, while Chery currently sits in 15th place, just behind Tesla which sources the Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan from China.
More than 118,000 new Chinese-built cars were sold in Australia in the first half of 2025, representing 19 per cent of total industry sales and closing in on Thailand (our main source of utes) as the second most popular country of origin. Japan remains the clear leader.
- GWM – 25,189 (+17.0%)
- BYD – 23,355 (+144.6%)
- MG – 21,674 (-11.9%)
- Chery – 14,123 (+228.8%)
- LDV – 7340 (-16.6%)
More: New cars coming to Australia in 2025
Top-selling small SUVs in Australia for 2025 (H1)
SUVs now account for 60 per cent of all new vehicle sales in Australia and small SUVs are closing in on medium SUVs as the biggest-selling segment in this favoured class. A whopping 130,162 new small SUVs were sold in the first half of 2025 (including those classified as ‘light’ SUVs by the FCAI), up 8.5 per cent. This is a price-sensitive category attracting cut-price entrants, including the just-launched Mahindra XUV 3XO – a model the Indian brand is aiming to catapult into the top five for light-sized SUVs.
- Hyundai Kona – 11,241 (+25.6%)
- MG ZS – 10,177 (-13.8%)
- GWM Haval Jolion – 9029 (+26.6%)
- Mazda CX-3 – 8221 (-3.7%)
- Chery Tiggo 4 – 7996 (new model)
Best-selling medium SUVs in Australia for 2025 (H1)
Medium SUVs still represent the single biggest market segment in Australia, with 149,167 of them snapped up in the first half of 2025. The Toyota RAV4 remains the dominant player, selling twice as many as its nearest competitors, but expect a tougher second half as new and updated models weigh in, including the Subaru Forester, Mitsubishi Outlander and MY26 Kia Sportage. While the Outlander has dropped significant volume, Mitsubishi has run out of the previous generation model in preparation for its update, so expect it to rebound in coming months. The Hyundai Tucson is also on the comeback trail, with more than 10,000 examples sold in H1 2025 (10,272, +8.6%).
- Toyota RAV4 – 24,034 (-5.4%)
- Mazda CX-5 – 11,991 (+0.6%)
- Mitsubishi Outlander – 11,399 (-21.1%)
- Kia Sportage – 10,558 (+0.8%)
- Tesla Model Y – 10,431 (-16.7%)
More: Australia’s best medium SUVs of 2024
Top-selling large SUVs in Australia for 2025 (H1)
The new Toyota LandCruiser Prado has pushed the large family SUV segment to new heights in 2025 with phenomenal growth over the first six months. The total segment is up 13 per cent with more than 85,000 sales for H1. Affordable new seven-seater models should also make an impact in the second half, including the MG QS.
- Toyota LandCruiser Prado – 15,583 (+345.5%)
- Ford Everest – 12,294 (+9.0%)
- Isuzu MU-X – 7818 (-22.5%)
- Kia Sorento – 5165 (-7.2%)
- Subaru Outback – 4771 (-17.5%)
Best-selling small cars in Australia for 2025 (H1)
Traditional passenger car sales plummeted by 28 per cent in the first half of 2025, underlining buyers’ preference for SUVs. But small cars remain one of the top five categories behind utes and small, medium and large SUVs. Combined sales of traditional small cars with micro/light hatches were 55,450 units in H1, down 17.6 per cent.
- Toyota Corolla – 9359 (-29.0%)
- Mazda3 – 5599 (+2.1%)
- Hyundai i30 – 5579 (-14.4%)
- MG3 – 5286 (-14.0%)
- Kia Picanto – 3679 (+30.0%)
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Top-selling utes in Australia for 2025 (H1)
Australians bought 119,718 new utes in the first half of this year, with 90 per cent of those 4x4 models. The big players from Ford, Toyota, Isuzu and Mitsubishi were all down, offset by significant support in the marketplace for the new BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid dual-cab. Watch out for the long-awaited Kia Tasman ute launching soon.
- Ford Ranger – 28,311 (-15.6%)
- Toyota HiLux – 26,267 (-7.9%)
- Isuzu D-Max – 14,065 (-11.1%)
- BYD Shark 6 – 10,424 (new model)
- Mitsubishi Triton – 9228 (-1.3%)
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