- Until a few months ago, only one or two electric cars were able to post monthly sales of more than 1,000 in Australia – the Tesla Model Y, the Tesla Model 3, and the BYD Sealion 7.
In June last year, all three posted sales of more than 1,000 in a single month. In June this year – in a month that smashed all sales records for EVs in Australia – seven electric cars achieved that feat, with five new Chinese models joining the Model Y and Sealion 7, and the Model 3 fading away into 12th place.
The list of the best-sellers in the month – you can find more details in our month by month data page here – highlight something of a changing of the guard in the EV industry.
For a start, they are all Chinese owned, or Chinese made. The leader, the Model Y with a thumping 8,072 sales in the month, is made in Shanghai, and BYD, Geely and Omoda Jaecoo are all Chinese brands. So too is the MG, once a signature mark of the British auto industry.
Three of the best selling cars – the Atto 2, the Jaecoo J5, and the MG4 Urban – can be bought for less than $40,000. The EX5 is less than $50,000.
Australia’s best-selling EVs in June, 2026.
- Tesla Model Y – 8,072
- BYD Sealion 7 – 4,730
- BYD Atto 2 – 2,482
- Geely EX5 – 2,303
- Omoda Jaecoo J5 – 2,096
- Zeekr 7X – 1,868
- MG4 Urban – 1,015
See also: Australian electric vehicle sales by month in 2026 – by model and by brand
The warning to the legacy car-makers is clear. BYD, with the addition of its plug-in and super hybrid models, nearly toppled Toyota as the biggest selling brand in the month.
Image Credit: Omoda Jaecoo
China is now clearly the biggest source of vehicles to the Australia market, with former leader Japan still focused on internal combustion engines and very few EV models. Only three Japanese EVs figure in the top 50 in Australia so far this year – Toyota’s bZ4X (15th), the Subaru Solterra (the sister model that ranks 30th), and the Subaru Trailseeker, that ranks 47th.
What will happen in the coming months. Even the FCAI admits to a “structural shift” in the market, but July is likely to see a softening in EV sales numbers, given that Tesla tends to start each quarter slowly, and there has been no sighting of any new special BYD ships arriving in Australia.
Still, EVs managed to grab a 23.5 per cent share in a particularly buoyant market in June – with regions like the ACT achieving a remarkable 43.5 per cent share for the month.
Given that overall car sales were also at a record, it will be interesting to see what market share is achieved in July, and to what extent the orders from the initial rush sparked by the surge in fuel prices is still being met.
You can find the full EV sales data details here, and check out all EV Models currently offered for sale in Australia here in our Compare EVs page.
Sign up for The Driven’s free daily newsletter and get the latest EV news and analysis delivered straight to your inbox.
