VFACTS February: Chinese brands triumph

For the first time ever, China has become Australia’s biggest supplier of new cars. Overhauling Japan and comfortably besting Thailand and Korea, 25,708 of the 94,131 new vehicles sold last month were sourced from China, and it’s entirely plausible this could one day become the norm.

We say ‘one day’ because there’s really very little doubt Japan will retake its crown as our number one supplier once the new-generation Toyota RAV4 has landed on Aussie soil and returned to its usual dual-cab-scaring sales antics.

The RAV4 is a stalwart of Toyota’s line-up, having averaged 4893 monthly sales in 2024, 4329 in 2025 and ultimately finishing last year second only to the dominant Ford Ranger.

The next generation is due in local showrooms shortly and, despite price increases of more than $3000 being applied to most pre-existing variants, it’s expected to sell just as well as, if not better than its immensely popular predecessor.

If (when) Toyota can recover the best part of 4000 monthly RAV4 sales, if not more, it would propel Japan back into the lead as our biggest supplier of new cars… provided current trends remain as they are.

But with more and more Chinese makes and models coming to market, one has to feel the writing’s on the wall, and that China will eventually become our primary supplier month in, month out.

Still, Toyota remains the dominant force in the brand hierarchy – with 13,606 sales – ahead of Mazda (7042), Ford (6907), Kia (6710) and Hyundai (6266), with the top 10 rounded out by BYD (5323), Mitsubishi (4755), GWM (4689), Chery (3938) and Isuzu Ute (3384).

Best-selling models? The Ford Ranger stayed on top with 4325 sales, ahead of the Toyota HiLux (3625), Tesla Model Y (2791), Chery Tiggo 4 (2315), Mazda CX-5 (2099), Isuzu D-MAX (2092), Mitsubishi Outlander (2070), Hyundai Kona (2023), Mitsubishi Triton (2017) and GWM Haval Jolion (1804).

Conspicuous by its previously detailed absence from the top positions, Toyota sold just 723 RAV4s.

We outlined above how the RAV4 will inevitably recover and probably restore Japan as our biggest new-car supplier, but the real question is how long will it stay that way?

Chinese brands are gaining in popularity and not just because they’re typically cheap; there’s an increasing amount of genuinely decent and compelling models coming to market that can confidently stand toe-to-toe with legacy products, and for a fraction of the price.

Factor in the seemingly endless stream of new makes and models coming to market and it’s really only a matter of time…

The overall market was down 2.7 per cent last month compared to February 2025, primarily due to the RAV4’s tapering – the first downturn after five consecutive months of growth.

Best-selling models of February 2026

Best-selling brands of February 2026

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