Enter the dragon: The rise of Chinese vehicles in Australia
Sales of Chinese vehicles also boomed, with a wave of new brands and models arriving.
Roughly one in five new cars sold in Australia last year were Chinese branded, with both the number of Chinese brands and their market share growing roughly tenfold since 2019, according to Mike Costello, Market Analyst at Cox Automotive Manheim.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the official industry statistician for new vehicle sales, reported a total of 221,699 Chinese-made cars were sold here last year, representing about 18% of new vehicle sales, up from around 14% in 2024.
Add the likes of Tesla and Polestar, which are not included in the FCAI’s numbers, and that figure swells to 252,928, making China our number two source of new vehicles behind Japan (358,981) and ahead of traditionally second-placed Thailand (249,958).
Non-Chinese brands are also increasingly sourcing vehicles, particularly electric vehicles (EVs), from China.
This includes Tesla, which sourced all but a few hundred of its 28,856 Australian-delivered vehicles from China in 2025, while Chinese-owned Polestar’s lineup is exclusively made there.
BYD Sealion 8.
Other brands that source Australian-delivered models from China include Cupra (Tavascan), Lotus (Eletre and Emeya), Kia (EV5), Mini (Cooper Electric and Aceman), and Volvo (all models other than the XC90).
Keeping up with who’s who is not always easy. Many Chinese brands are relative newcomers and previously unknown to Australian consumers, while others operate sub-brands that aren’t instantly recognisable as being connected to the parent company.
“There are currently 22 Chinese brand names sold here, made by 11 companies,” Mr Costello said.
“For example, GWM also sells the Haval, Ora and Tank brands.”
The list of Chinese brands currently available in Australia already exceeds the number of Japanese brands and includes BYD, Chery, Deepal, Denza, Farizon, Foton, GAC, Geely, GWM, Haval, IM Motors, JAC Motors, LDV, Leapmotor, MG, Omoda-Jaecoo, Ora, Skywell/Skyworth, Smart, Tank, Xpeng and Zeekr.
Some industry experts predict not all these new brands will survive here long term, with newcomers like Foton (70), Deepal (481) and Leapmotor (644) not yet achieving triple-digit sales, and others, including Farizon, Smart, Skywell and Xpeng, choosing not to publicly report sales.
GWM Tank 300.
Despite this, there are reportedly more Chinese brands headed our way in 2026 including Avatr, Dongfeng, Exeed, Firefly, Forthing, iCaur, Jetour, JMC, Lepas, Nio, Onvo, Riddara, Wey and Xiaomi.
A key attraction of Chinese brands is their highly competitive pricing, which is putting pressure on established brands from Japan, Korea, Europe and elsewhere, reshaping the traditional new vehicle pecking order.
Last year saw Chinese brands GWM, BYD and MG cement themselves in the top 10 of new vehicle sales at the expense of prominent brands like Nissan, Subaru and Volkswagen.
It’s likely that 2026 will see Chinese brands claim even more market share.
The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) cautions that with vehicle ownership in Australia averaging more than 10 years, long-term support from Chinese brands is just as important as short-term sales success.
“Chinese manufacturers are clearly no longer niche players – they are competing head-to-head with established brands in Australia,” the AAAA’s Chief Executive Officer Stuart Charity said.
“This is a positive development that gives consumers more choice, but the real test is how these manufacturers support their vehicles once they’re in the hands of Australian drivers.”
With a growing number of buyers taking advantage of this influx of new brands and the more competitive market being created, the table below details the top five Chinese car brands, their owned sub-brands, market share and model lineup.
MG
Parent company: SAIC Motor
Related brands: IM Motors, LDV, Maxus, MG, Rising Auto, Roewe
Sales 2025: 41,298
Change YoY: -18.4%
Model lineup: Cyberster, HS, IM5, IM6, MG3, MG4, MG5, MGU9, QS, S5, ZS
Best-selling model: MG ZS (20,000)
GWM
Parent company: Baoding Great Wall Holdings Company
Related brands: Haval, Ora, Tank, Wey
Sales 2025: 52,809
Change YoY: +23.4%
Model lineup: GWM Ute, Cannon, Cannon Alpha, Ora, Tank 300, Tank 500, Haval H6, H7, Jolion
Best-selling model: GWM Haval Jolion (19,413)
BYD
Parent company: BYD Company
Related brands: Denza, Fangchengbao, Yangwang
Sales 2025: 52,415
Change YoY: +156.2%
Model lineup: BYD Atto 1, Atto 2, Atto 3, Dolphin, Seal, Sealion 6, Sealion 7, Shark 6, Denza B5, B8
Best-selling model: BYD Shark 6 (18,073)
Chery
Parent company: Chery Group
Related brands: Tiggo, Omoda‑Jaecoo, Exeed
Sales 2025: 34,889
Change YoY: +176.8%
Model lineup: Chery C5/E5, Tiggo 4 Pro, Tiggo 7 Pro, Tiggo 8 Pro, Tiggo 9, Omoda 5, Omoda 9, Omoda‑Jaecoo J7, J8
Best-selling model: Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (20,149)
LDV
Parent company: SAIC Motor
Related brands: IM Motors, Maxus, MG, Rising Auto, Roewe
Sales 2025: 14,108
Change YoY: -11.9%
Model lineup: D90, Deliver 7, Deliver 9, G10, Mifa, Mifa9, T60, Terron 9, V80
Best-selling model: LDV T60 (4,301)
Reported sales of other Chinese brands in 2025
Geely: 5,010
Omoda‑Jaecoo: 3,721
Zeekr: 1,994
JAC: 1,582
Leapmotor: 644
Deepal: 481
Foton: 1,780
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