Australia February 2026: China becomes #1 source country, Toyota off -27.8% to lowest share in 3 years

The Chery Tiggo 4 is up to #3 year-to-date in Australia.

10/03 update: Now with Top 335 All models ranking.

New vehicle sales in Australia are down -2.7% year-on-year in February to 94,131 units, leading to a year-to-date volume off -1.3% to 181,884. Petrol sales fall -17.7% to 33,309, diesel limits its fall to -1.6% and 26,963 units and HEVs are off -9.6% to 13,868 but PHEVs soar 20.2% to 5,854. The best performing propulsion is by far BEVs: up a stunning 95.9% to 11,134 for a record 11.8% market share. SUVs stabilise their share at 60.3% vs. 60.4% in February 2025 due to sales down -2.9% to 56,767. Light commercials are also in negative at -0.7% to 21,191 and 22.5% share vs. 22.1% a year ago and passenger cars edge down -2.4% to 13,170 and 14% share vs. 13.9% last year. Meanwhile heavy commercials are off -12.9% to 3,003 and 3.2% share vs. 3.6% a year ago.

If Victoria is stable (24,732) all other regions are in negative this month (excluding Tesla and Polestar). New South Wales is down -7.6% to 27,524, Queensland down -2.8% to 19,644, Western Australia off -3.9% to 9,841, South Australia at -8.7% to 5,673, Tasmania down -6.4% to 1,384, Australian Capital Territory down -18.7% to 1,187 and Northern Territory off -15.8% to 727. Worryingly, private sales trail the market at -7.7% to 45,182 but fleet sales do the same at -3.4% to 34,444. Only rental sales are dynamic at +35.4% to 5,786 while government sales are down -13.4% to 2,297. The big event of the month is China becoming the biggest source of cars sold in Australia, thanks to sales up 50.5% to 25,781. Meanwhile, Japan is down -31.3% to 21,671, Thailand is up 6.7% to 19,493, South Korea down -2.9% to 11,913 and Germany up 9.8% to 4,272.

The new generation has so far failed to boost Hilux sales in Australia.

After losing -22.3% in January, Toyota (-27.8%) continues its fall to hell with just 14.5% share this month, its lowest in three years: since March 2023 when it hit 13.6% (January 2026 share was incorrect and amended to 16.3%). Toyota suffers from RAV4’s stock drying up (-83.6%) before the new generation hits dealerships at the end of March, and an imploding Prado (-53.3%). Mazda (-19.9%) is also in a rut but manages to stay in 2nd place with 7.5% share. Ford (+9%) is solid and back up one spot on last month to #3 but is stuck in 4th place year-to-date (#2 over the Full Year 2025). Kia (+0.04%) is stable but sister brand Hyundai (+4.5%) is catching up. BYD (+62.2%) lodges another fantastic score and stays in 6th place above a struggling Mitsubishi (-22.3%). Below GWM (+24.9%) at 5% share, Chery (+93.2%) manages an incredible 13th consecutive record volume at 3,938. Isuzu Ute (+23.7%) is also strong while Tesla (+105.7%) is resurgent at #11. A couple of Chinese carmakers make themselves noticed: newcomer Geely breaks its ranking, volume and share records, Zeekr is up 560.6% and Denza lands at #32 with 309 sales.

Model-wise, the Ford Ranger (+7.1%) delivers a satisfying performance at #1, widening the gap with the Toyota Hilux (+0.2%) which has (so far?) failed to benefit from its new generation. The Tesla Model Y (+202.1%) triples its sales year-on-year and shoots up to #3, its highest ranking since last September (#3 also). The Chery Tiggo 4 (+116.8%) repeats at a record #4, a ranking it has held for three of the past four months. It also equals its all-time high share (2.5%) and breaks its volume record (2,315), climbing to #3 year-to-date. The Mazda CX-5 (+8.6%) once again shows surprising form given it will be replaced by a new generation later this year. The GWM Haval Jolion (+38.1%) stays inside the Top 10 with the Ford Everest (+47.3%) and Hyundai Tucson (+15.8%) also showing brilliant form.

Previous month: Australia January 2026: Chinese (+62.9%) pull market up, Toyota down -22.3%

One year ago: Australia February 2025: BYD Shark 6 lands with a bang

Full February 2026 Top 56 All brands and Top 335 All models below.