Tesla and BYD have both smashed their EV sales records in Australia – by a wide margin – in what is shaping up as a landmark month for the electric vehicle transition in Australia, with even the main car lobby acknowledging a “permanent structural shift” to EVs.
BYD on Friday revealed it had sold more than 10,000 EVs in June, the first time any EV maker has reached that level in a single month, just a day after Tesla revealed it had sold a record 8,760 EVs in June.
The result of the two biggest EV companies in Australia propelled the market share of electric vehicles to 23.5 per cent, according to data from the main car lobby group, the Federated Chamber of Automotive Industries.
According to the FCAI, Australia recorded its best ever month of sales with 140,058, and yet EVs grabbed a 23.5 per cent share of that increased market. In a regular month, the EV share would have topped 30 per cent.
The full data breakdown was not released on Friday as usual because of a delay announced by industry statistician VFacts. No explanation was provide. However, some car makers released their own data separately.
BYD was the best selling EV brand (and just 243 sales short of beating Toyota as the best selling brand overall) with a total of 10,371 EVs sold in the month – led by the BYD Sealion 7, which registered 4,730 sales for the month, and followed by the small BYD Atto 2 electric SUV which recorded its best-to-date monthly total of 2,482.
On Thursday, The Electric Vehicle Council revealed that Tesla had sold 8,670 EVs in the month of June, including 8,072 for the Model Y – which remains the best selling car of any type in Australia for the second successive month – and by a big margin of more than 2,000 over the next best selling vehicle, the Ford Ranger diesel ute. The Sealion 7 comes in at number 3 of all cars, and the Atto 2 comes in at number 8.
- Tesla Model Y – 8,072
- BYD Sealion 7 – 4,730
- BYD Atto 2 – 2,482
- BYD Atto 1 – 871
- BYD Seal – 769
- BYD Atto 3 – 677
- BYD Dolphin – 645
See full details in our month by month data set.
BYD says it sold a “phenomenal” 18,881 new energy vehicles, including hybrids in the month of June, which it says it unlikely to be repeated for some time. It was boosted by a special shipment to meet surging demand that erupted after the US war on Iran and the subsequent surge in fossil fuel prices.
“We asked our customers to back us in, and they did, and we delivered,” BYD Australia Chief Operating Officer Stephen Collins said in a statement.
“We thank them for having faith in us to make good on a promise we made in early April, which was to deliver vehicles in record time when orders more than doubled as cost-of-living pressures intensified with skyrocketing fuel prices.”
Collins said the record June delivery number was the result of full factory support with increased production, including a special delivery of almost 5,000 additional BYD and DENZA vehicles on a BYD-owned vessel.
BYD says June’s record month means that it will rank – for the third consecutive month – second amongst the almost 60 brands offering passenger and light commercial vehicles in Australia, including petrol and diesel suppliers.
Other car makers have been caught short, including the market leader Toyota, which have been unable to meet demand because of the lack of supply from their home countries. It will be fascinating to see what the final percentage is for EVs in Australia, which reached a record 20 per cent in the month of May, after struggling to break above 10 per cent for much of 2025.
In the ACT, Australia’s most advanced EV market, the share of EVs in the month of June reached 43.12 per cent, and EVs now make up 5 per cent of the total passenger car fleet in the national capital.
The FCAI, which has battled hard against the federal government’s emissions policies on cars, leading to some car makers defecting to the rival EVC, acknowledged EVs had recorded “extraordinary growth” across the first half of 2026, with EV market share from all sources rising every month from 8.4 per cent in January to 23.4 per cent in June, an almost threefold increase in just six months.Â
“The Australian automotive market has shifted on its axis during the first months of 2026. This year is likely to represent a significant turning point for the Australian automotive industry,” FCAI CEO Tony Weber said in a statement.
“Global uncertainty, including conflict in the Middle East and volatility in petrol prices, appears to have sharpened consumer interest in vehicles that reduce exposure to fuel prices.
“While these factors have had a short-term impact, part of the EV growth would appear to be a permanent structural shift.”
The FCAI also noted that China is now established as Australia’s leading source of vehicles, accounting for 46,592 sales in VFACTS in June (35.5 per cent), followed by Japan with 27,098 (20.7 per cent), Thailand with 23,297 (17.8 per cent), Korea with 14,863 (11.3 per cent) and Germany with 5,731 (4.4 per cent).Â
Toyota was the market leader in June with 19,124 sales, followed closely by BYD with 18,881 sales. Ford recorded 9,181 sales, with Tesla at number 3 with 8,760, and then Kia and Hyundai.
We will update as and when we get more data.
See The Driven’s comprehensive data in our month by month sales data.
And also: A momentous and historic turning point: The beginning of the end of the ICE age in Australia
Sign up for The Driven’s free daily newsletter and get the latest EV news and analysis delivered straight to your inbox.
