VFACTS: August sales second best on record

With Polestar and Tesla sales figures collated by the Electric Vehicle Council taken into account, the number rises to 103,694 units. 

Furthermore, and for the first time, four Chinese brands – BYD, Chery, GWM, and MG – are in the national top 10, with a total of 20,070 Chinese-made vehicles recorded by VFACTS sold across the month of August – or 67 per cent more than for the same time last year. 

China’s footprint on the Australian car market is even greater when factoring in that Tesla vehicles are imported from China, as are Polestar’s 2 and 3 models (production of the Polestar 4 recently switched from China to South Korea for models shipped to Australia). 

“The presence of four Chinese brands in the top ten illustrates the continuing evolution of the automotive landscape in Australia,” said Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber. 

Predictably, SUVs continue to dominate the Australian new car market with 60,495 units sold in August, or 60 per cent of the overall field. That number is 3954 units greater than the same time last year, or a rise of seven per cent. 

Light commercial vehicle sales are likewise up, the segment growing by 704 units or 3.1 per cent against August of 2024. 

Passenger cars made up just 13.1 per cent of sales in August and are down 25 per cent year-to-date when compared with the same period last year 

Month-on-month figures show passenger car sales down 12.9 per cent against August 2024, a decrease of 1963 units. 

Heavy vehicle sales are also down, falling 484 units against the same time last year for a reduction of 11.8 per cent. 

According to the FCAI, battery electric vehicles (BEV) represented 6.8 per cent of the new vehicles sales recorded in August, while plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 3.9 per cent. 

Electric Vehicle Council data shows Polestar sold 228 vehicles across August (up 250.7 per cent YoY) and Tesla 2927 units (up 22.3 per cent YoY). With these figures taken to account the overal market share of BEVs in Australia rises to 9.6 per cent. 

Toyota retained its leadership of the Australian new vehicle market in August with unit sales of 20,791 (down 3.3 per cent year-on-year) leading Ford by a margin of 12,789 units and 12.7 market share points. 

Ford sold 8002 vehicles (down 10 per cent) to take second place ahead of third-placed Kia with 7402 unit sales (up 7.2 per cent). 

Australia’s top vehicle models for the month of August 2025 were the Ford Ranger in first position, with 4942 unit sales (down nine per cent YoY), the Toyota HiLux in second place, with 4823 unit sales (up 7.3 per cent YoY), and the Toyota RAV4 in third position, with 4115 unit sales (down 38.7 per cent YoY). 

Fourth place went to the MG ZS (2680 sold, up 70.1 per cent YoY) while the Tesla Model Y ranked fifth on 2324 deliveries, up 74.7 per cent increase YoY. 

Rounding out the top 10 were the Isuzu D-Max just behind the Tesla with 2314 sales (down 9.2 per cent) and Ford's Everest large SUV (2203 units, down 3.1 per cent. 

The Toyota LandCruiser Prado recorded 2033 sales (compared with just three as supply dried up while the current generation shipped). Hyundai's Kona small SUV achieved 1983 deliveries, (up 18.5 per cent) and the Toyota Corolla placed tenth with 1823 sales (down 1.7 per cent). 

Across the regions in August, sales in the Australian Capital Territory were up 20.7 per cent to 1615 units, New South Wales up 2.4 per cent to 30,536 units, Queensland up 2.8 per cent to 21,907 units, Victoria up 3.8 per cent to 27,036 units, and Western Australia up 1.6 per cent to 10,647 units. 

The remaining states and territories were down, with new vehicle sales in the Northern Territory falling 7.8 per cent to 840 units, South Australia decreasing six per cent to 6404 units, and Tasmania sliding 3.1 per cent to 1554 units.

Top 10 vehicle sales by make (August 2025)*: