Yesterday, The Driven reported that electric vehicle sales continued to surge in Australia in May, reaching an all-time high of 20 per cent of all new vehicles sold, beating the previous record of 16.4 per cent in April, set after the jump in petrol and diesel prices.
Today, we dive a bit deeper into the state of petrol and diesel vehicles and the decline in diesel light commercial vehicles.
The latest data from FCAI vFacts shows that Australian buyers are ditching diesel vehicles for cleaner BEV and PHEV options, with diesel sales down 13.1% so far in 2026 compared with 2025.
That’s over 19,000 fewer diesel-powered vehicles sold than last year, while the sales of petrol vehicles also saw a drop, with over 45,000 fewer petrol cars sold when compared to the first five months of 2025.
Looking deeper into the commercial vehicle sales, it’s clear that people are ditching diesel utes, with that segment seeing a sharp decrease of 16.4% in 2026 over 2025 sales.
That’s being replaced by an increase in electric and PHEV offerings, or just delaying purchase of light commercial vehicles as diesel prices remain high.
Popular utes like the Toyota Hilux have seen over 2,600 fewer sold in 2026, compared to last year. This could also be due to the new launch of the relatively low-range Hilux electric ute. Some 14 of these EVs were delivered in May, and more will be on their way.
Ford has also seen a decline in sales, with 1,600 fewer units sold in 2026, with the bulk of those from the more expensive 4×4 variants.
There is also another trend in the data which is hinting a move towards popular PHEV utes, like the BYD Shark 6, which has recently seen an expansion of its lineup.
This includes a Performance variant, which can tow 3.5 tonnes and a fleet-friendly cab-chassis variant too.
After selling over 25,000 Shark 6 utes in just over 14 months, BYD is expected to see a sharp increase in those sales too, as accessories and other aftermarket services help more traditional diesel ute buyers consider the electrified, very capable model.
With more diesel prices remaining high, more light commercial and passenger vehicle buyers will continue to be drawn towards EVs.
Would brands like Toyota seeing a decline in Hilux sales stand still or bring large quantities of the Hilux BEVs to counter losing sales, time will tell.
After all, over 70,000 drivers have already made a switch in the first five months who are unlikely to ever return to ICE vehicles.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.