ChinaOvertakesJapanasAustralia’sTopAutoSupplier

More than 5,000 China-made vehicles wait to be shipped to Australia at the Waigaoqiao Haitong International Auto Terminal in Shanghai on July 6, 2025. Photo: VCG

China overtook Japan as Australia’s largest source of imported vehicles for the first time in February, ending Japan’s decades-long lead in the market.

Australia imported 22,300 vehicles from China in February, giving China a 25% share, according to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI). Japan ranked second with 21,600 units, followed by Thailand with 19,400. Japan had been the top source since 1998.

The shift underscores how Chinese automakers — and global carmakers shipping vehicles from their China plants — are reshaping Australia, a market of more than 1 million annual new-vehicle sales that has no domestic manufacturing and is relatively open to new entrants.

Chinese-made vehicles have steadily moved up the rankings since 2020, overtaking South Korea in 2023 and Thailand in 2025 to become the No. 2 import source before taking the top spot in February. FCAI chief executive Tony Weber has described Australia as one of the world’s most open and competitive auto markets, where new brands drive price and technology competition. Nine of the 10 brands that entered Australia since 2020 are Chinese, including BYD Co. Ltd., Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and XPeng Inc.

Imports from China include vehicles made there by Tesla Inc., BMW AG and Kia Corp. Chinese brands themselves have also expanded, lifting their share of Australia’s new-car market from under 5% in 2020 to about 20% in 2025. In the first two months of 2026, four Chinese automakers — BYD, Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd. (GWM), Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. and SAIC Motor-backed MG Motor — ranked among Australia’s 10 best-selling brands.

BYD led the group, with sales up 160% from a year earlier to 10,200 vehicles in January and February. Over the same period, Toyota Motor Corp.’s sales fell 24.9% to 27,900 and Mazda Motor Corp.’s declined 13.9% to 14,700.

Chinese brands have gained ground by selling lower-priced sport-utility vehicles and pickups — both popular in Australia — and by pushing into electrified vehicles. In 2025, battery-electric vehicle sales rose 13.1% to 103,000 units, while plug-in hybrid sales surged 130% to 53,000.

Tesla remained Australia’s top battery-electric seller in 2025 but faced mounting competition. Automotive site CarExpert said Tesla sales fell 24.8% to 28,000 units, while BYD’s battery-electric sales jumped 77.3% to 25,000. BYD also led the plug-in hybrid market, with a roughly 50% share after selling 27,000 units — well ahead of Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which held about 10%.

BYD sold 52,400 vehicles in Australia in 2025, up 156%. BYD Australia chief operating officer Stephen Collins said in February that Australia was the company’s largest sales contributor in the Asia-Pacific region in 2025, and that it planned to launch seven to eight new models over the next year.

Contact editor Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)