Battery electric vehicles sales remained strong in July, grabbing a 21.7 per cent share of a record month for total new car sales in Australia, continuing its momentum from June when electric cars grabbed a 23.5 per cent share of the market.
The strong showing was again led by Chinese car giant BYD and its big American rival Tesla, but there were also good results from other Chinese car makers such as Geely, Jaecoo, Zeekr and MG.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says 103,656 new vehicles were delivered in July 2026, surpassing the previous July record of 103,097 last year. A further 4,921 sales were recorded by the Electric Vehicle Council. Of these totals, 23,510 were full battery EVs, the second month in a row that electric cars have made up more than one fifth of the new vehicle market.
The Tesla Model Y was the best selling EV in the month, with 4,664, although it lost its position as the best selling car of any type, overtaken for the month by the Toyota RAV4 and the Toyota Hilux ute.
Toyota said 39 per cent of the RAV4’s 5,564 sales were the new plug in hybrid. A total of 10,359 PHEVs were sold in the month.
The Tesla showing for July was notable as it was the first month of the quarter, when its sales are usually low, and more than half of its Model Y sales came from the new six-seater Model Y L.
Coming in behind the Model Y in the EV rankings were the BYD Sealion 7, with 2,548 sales, the Geely EX5 with 2,034, and the Zeekr 7X, with a best ever monthly showing of 1,892.
The Jaecoo J5 also continued to score well with 1,654 sales for the month, while new arrivals MG4 Urban and the Geely EX2 also did well.
Here are some of the highlights. You can find detailed sales date here: Australian electric vehicle sales by month in 2026 – by model and by brand
- Tesla Model Y – 4,644
- BYD Sealion 7 – 2,548
- Geely EX5 – 2,034
- Zeekr 7X – 1,892
- Omoda Jaecoo J5 – 1,654
- BYD Atto 2 – 1,214
- Kia EV3 – 804
- MG MG4 Urban – 666
- Kia EV5 – 650
- Geely EX2 – 474
- BYD Dolphin – 401
- BYD Seal – 394
- GAC Aion V – 373
- Toyota bZ4X – 357
- BYD Atto 3 -277
- Zeekr X – 211
- Tesla Model 3 – 134
BYD had come close to pipping Toyota as the best selling brand in the Australia market for the month of June, but Toyota sold nearly three times as many cars as its China rival in July, helped by new arrivals.
BYD outsold Tesla in EVs for the fifth month out of 7 this year, with 5,116 vs 4,778 in July, and leads on year to date sales with 34,308 vs 28,366, although it does offer more models than its US rival.
The FCAI, which has been critical of the federal government’s vehicle emission standards, which along with soaring fuel prices has been responsible for the surge in EV sales, continued to fret about the state of charging infrastructure.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said the July result demonstrated extraordinary resilience in Australia’s new-vehicle market in a cost-of-living crisis.
“There is a risk that the rapid increase in electric vehicle uptake in 2026 will outpace the supply of public charging infrastructure,” FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said in a statement.
“Governments and the private sector must work together to ensure that the public charging network meets growing demand particularly in regional areas and for motorists who do not have access to charging at home.
“Accessible and dependable charging will be critical to maintaining consumer confidence as electric vehicles become a larger part of Australia’s new-vehicle fleet.”
Julie Delvecchio, the head of the Electric Vehicle Council, said Australians are choosing to go electric because they’re cheaper to run, cleaner and better to drive.
“After a record end-of-financial-year month, we expected softer numbers in July. But the underlying trend remains clear: EV sales are well ahead of last year, consumer choice is expanding, and Australians are responding to lower running costs,” she said in a statement.
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You can find The Driven’s detailed EV sales data here: Australian electric vehicle sales by month in 2026; by model and by brand.
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