VFACTS July: Winners and losers 

Seven months into 2026 and the market's biggest trends are becoming impossible to ignore. Some brands have adapted brilliantly to Australia’s rapidly changing automotive landscape. Others look like they're being left behind.

Toyota may have restored some breathing space, but BYD’s extraordinary rise shouldn’t be overlooked.

Its July total of 7857 vehicles was well down on June’s record effort, yet it still comfortably secured second place nationally and lifted its year-to-date tally to 60,192 vehicles – more than double last year’s figure.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of BYD's growth is that it doesn’t rely on one hero product.

The Sealion 7 has become one of Australia's favourite EVs, the Atto 2 is rapidly establishing itself as a genuine volume player in the small SUV market, the Shark 6 is a ute player, while the Sealion 8 is beginning to challenge established seven-seat SUVs.

Five years ago, “the Chinese challenge” effectively meant MG. Then it became BYD. Today it’s much bigger than that.

BYD, Chery, Geely, GWM, MG, Omoda Jaecoo, Zeekr, Deepal, Denza, Leapmotor, GAC and others are no longer niche players looking for a foothold.

Collectively, they're reshaping the Australian market. Some of them have growth rates in the hundreds of per cent year-on-year. Zeekr, driven by the top-10 7X, is up over 1000 per cent!

China supplied 33,634 vehicles to Australia during July, up 78.4 per cent on the same month last year, while year-to-date imports from China have climbed 71.4 per cent to more than 208,000 vehicles. At the same time, imports from Japan have fallen 21.7 per cent.

Quietly, almost unnoticed, Honda appears to have stopped the bleeding.

Its switch to an agency sales model looked disastrous at times, but after seven months, the Japanese brand is actually ahead of where it was this time last year.

A 2.6 per cent improvement won’t make headlines, but after several years of steep declines, simply moving in the right direction feels like a significant achievement.

The brands under the greatest pressure aren’t necessarily the ones at the bottom of the sales charts; it’s the companies caught between Toyota’s enormous scale and China’s rapidly expanding presence.

Mazda is down 16.7 per cent year-to-date. Mitsubishi has fallen 27.4 per cent. Nissan is down 33.7 per cent. Subaru is off 26.2 per cent. Volkswagen has dropped a further 18.9 per cent after a rough 2025.

Even Ford, despite the Ranger remaining Australia's best-selling vehicle year-to-date, has fallen 10.8 per cent.

Not a great time to be selling high-priced European autos. Audi (-14.4%); BMW (-12.8%); Land Rover (-15.1%); Maserati (32.4%); Porsche (-29.1%); Rolls-Royce (-22%). Lexus is also off 15.3 per cent.

Mercedes-Benz has limited the bleeding to 3.8 per cent and has a string of strong models (CLA, GLC, GLA) entering the market. Bentley sales are up 22.1 per cent, although that equates to only 15 more sales.

When it launched in April 2025, Kia forecast almost 2000 Tasman sales per month.

But its own issues – styling, engine size – combined with the downturn in the ute segment has it averaging just 433 sales per month.

Given Australia’s importance to the Tasman’s global success, the turnaround is going to have to be dramatic and quick if it is to be viable.

The good news for Kia is its Australian sales are being bolstered by the outstanding performance of the EV3 small electric SUV, and to a lesser extent, the bigger EV5.

Unlike many of its mainstream rivals, Kia is holding its own.

Mazda is enduring one of its toughest years in recent memory.

The brand has slipped to fifth overall, its sales are down almost 17 per cent and the new CX-5 has even dropped out of the monthly top 10 (to 11th in July). Yet there may finally be cause for optimism.

The new Mazda 6e electric sedan has made an encouraging start, outselling the Tesla Model 3 in July.

Next comes the CX-6e medium SUV. With its competitive pricing, it gives Mazda a genuine volume sales contender – and NVES fines fighter – in one of Australia's fastest-growing segments.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au