Model Y rebound, and boost from Geely, BYD and Kia put Australia EV sales back on track

After a slow start to in the first four months of 2025, Australian EV sales have risen sharply in the month of May – mostly through the resurgence of Australia’s best-selling EV –  the Tesla Model Y – and strong performances from new models from Geely, Kia and BYD.

The latest data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) shows that a total of 10,065 battery electric vehicles were sold in Australia in May, a 9.2 per cent share of the total market of  109,425 new car sales.

This compares to a share of just 6.6 per cent in April, and is above the year ago figure of 8.1 per cent.

It is the first time the EV sales has been above 10,000 in Australia since March, 2024, when the total was 10,058, and Tesla made up 60 per cent of these sales.

Tesla’s dominance of the Australian market has weakened considerably since then, but the rise in Australian EV sales in May is mostly attributable to the rebound in of the Model Y, which saw deliveries of the long awaited refreshed version start last month. This growth is expected to continue in coming months.

As per previous months, the data was separated with two suppliers, the FCAI shared 5,925 EVs – and those supplied by the Electric Vehicle Council – 4,140 – from Tesla and Polestar.

EV Sales Breakdown – May 2025

The year to date EV sales still trail last year’s, with 33,976 EVs delivered in the first five months of 2025, compared to 40,966 in the same period in 2024.

In May, PHEV sales were down again when compared to fully battery electric sales. 3,081 PHEVs were sold, with BYD’s Shark 6 and Sealion 6 making up 1,715 of these sales.

This trend is likely to continue as more affordable EV models like the MGS5 make it to the market with growing competition in the BEV space.

Looking into the EV models that made up the top 5, Tesla Model Y dominated every other model and was the clear leader with 3,580 sales for the month of May. The newly released Kia EV5 and the very new Geely EX5 took the other spots on the podium with 703 and 511 sales, respectively.

BYD Sealion 7 which last month had 743 sales, dipped, to be in the fourth spot with 488 sales in May.

BYD took the fifth spot with the Seal sedan, outselling its main rival, the Tesla Model 3, with 355 sales during the month. The M3 fell to ninth place (provisionally, pending more data from individual car makers), and is sharply down from the same period a year ago.

Other notable mention is from MG, which saw the start of deliveries of the successor to the affordable ZS EV, with driveaway prices of just over $40,000. It saw a total of 106 sales during the month.

The best-selling EVs in May 2025 were:

• Tesla Model Y – 3580 sales
• Kia EV5 – 703 sales
• Geely EX5 – 511 sales
• BYD Sealion 7 – 488 sales
• BYD Seal – 355 sales
• BYD Dolphin – 345 sales
• BYD Atto 3 – 322 sales
• MG MG4 – 319 sales
• Tesla Model 3 – 317 sales
• Kia EV3 – 310 sales
• MG ZS EV – 136 sales
• Polestar 4 – 133 sales
• MGS5 -106 sales
• Hyundai Inster – 101 sales

The Driven is waiting to hear back from various manufacturers regarding sales of some EV models, and this list will be updated once the information is received. 

Increased competition and the continued rollout of new models, prices decreases from multiple end of financial year offerings, and the impact of the new vehicle emissions standards should see EV sales continue to grow over the year. 

See full details of EV sales for each month of the year in our database here.