Australia’s new vehicle market recorded 131,134 deliveries through the FCAI VFACTS reporting system in June 2026, a 7% increase on June 2025. Adding sales reported through the Electric Vehicle Council by Tesla and Polestar, total deliveries reached 140,058, the highest monthly figure recorded in Australia and, according to CarExpert’s analysis, the strongest month since 2017. Battery electric vehicles accounted for 23.3% of sales from all sources, against 7.6% a year earlier.
Records usually tell a story about volume. This one is about composition. The vehicles behind June’s result, who built them, who bought them and what powers them, differ sharply from the market of twelve months ago. Each of those differences flows through to original equipment fitments, replacement tyre demand and the retail channels that serve both. This report examines the June data and what it indicates for the tyre industry.
What happened
June closed an uneven first half. VFACTS volumes fell 3.3% year-on-year in March and 4.8% in May, and April grew just 2.2%, before June’s recovery produced the record.
Toyota remained market leader with 19,124 VFACTS deliveries (14.6% share), followed by BYD on 18,881 (14.4%), a margin of 243 vehicles. BYD’s volume grew 131.5% year-on-year, although Toyota holds a clear year-to-date lead of 95,141 to 52,335, and BYD itself described June as “a feat unlikely to be repeated for some time”. The Tesla Model Y was the country’s highest-volume model line at 8,072 deliveries, ahead of the Ford Ranger on 5,999. Kia (8,005, up 2.5%) and Hyundai (7,480, down 11%) rounded out the top five brands, with Kia now ahead of its sister brand year-to-date.
Beneath the leaders, the established order is under pressure. Ford slipped 9.1% to 9,181. Mazda, historically a top-three brand, fell 22.6% to 7,278 and now sits fifth year-to-date. Chinese brands GWM (up 11.7%), MG (up 28.4%) and Chery (up 49%) completed the top 10, while Geely, Omoda Jaecoo and Zeekr grew at triple- and quadruple-digit rates from smaller bases. China became Australia’s leading source of vehicles with 55,516 June deliveries from all sources, up 85.5%, ahead of Japan (27,098, down 12.7%) and Thailand (23,297, down 16.2%).
The record was broad-based geographically: every state and territory grew year-on-year in VFACTS terms, led by Tasmania (up 14.3%), the ACT (8.5%) and New South Wales (8.3%, on 39,932 deliveries).
A note on the figures: VFACTS covers brands that report to the FCAI; Tesla and Polestar ceased doing so in 2025 and publish through the Electric Vehicle Council. “Sales from all sources” combines both datasets and is the basis the FCAI uses when quoting BEV share, which is why the totals 131,134 and 140,058 are identified separately throughout this report.
Why it happened
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber attributed part of the growth to external conditions, citing conflict in the Middle East and petrol price volatility as factors that “sharpened consumer interest in vehicles that reduce exposure to fuel prices“. He also noted that part of the EV growth “would appear to be a permanent structural shift“. End-of-financial-year purchasing typically lifts June volumes. This year’s result also followed the softer autumn months and came as running-cost economics favoured a purchase.
Policy set the supply side. The New Vehicle Efficiency Standard commenced on 1 January 2025, with credits and penalties accruing from 1 July 2025 at A$100 per gram of CO2 per kilometre over each manufacturer’s fleet limit, according to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport. The FCAI credits the standard with lifting low-emission supply to around 110 EV model lines, and the Federal Government confirmed in April that the Electric Car Discount, the fringe benefits tax exemption for eligible EVs, will continue.
The demand came from households. Private deliveries rose 11.4% year-on-year, ahead of business purchases at 5.6%, while rental volumes fell 2.7% and government purchases declined 9.8%. That reverses the pattern of earlier phases of the market’s electrification, which leaned on novated leasing and fleet channels.
Even the country-of-origin shift traces to product mix rather than price alone: Thailand’s 16.2% decline tracks the 14% fall in 4×4 ute deliveries, and the Ranger and HiLux are both Thai-built.
What the numbers tell us
BEV share of sales from all sources has risen in every month of 2026, from 8.4% in January to 23.3% in June.
| Month | BEV share of total sales | BEV volume |
|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | 8.4% | 7,409 |
| February 2026 | 11.8% | 11,134 |
| March 2026 | 14.6% | 15,839 |
| April 2026 | 16.4% | 15,459 |
| May 2026 | 20.0% | 21,303 |
| June 2026 | 23.3% | 32,570 |
BEV share of new vehicle sales from all sources (FCAI VFACTS plus EVC-reported brands), as stated by the FCAI. Volumes for January to May are from The Driven’s tally of FCAI and EVC data; June volume is from VFACTS fuel-type data and excludes heavy commercial vehicles.
The fuel-type split shows how far the transition has run. June VFACTS data records 34,717 petrol, 32,570 electric and 31,789 diesel deliveries (excluding heavy commercial): electric outsold diesel and trailed petrol by 2,147. Hybrids rose 35% year-on-year to 20,741 and plug-in hybrids 158% to 16,068, leaving combustion-only vehicles at barely half the market.
The half-year total is the sharper measure. VFACTS fuel-type data records 103,716 electric deliveries in the first half of 2026, more than the 103,269 BEVs the FCAI recorded across the whole of calendar 2025, a year in which BEVs held an 8.3% share and first crossed 100,000 annual units, according to the Electric Vehicle Council. The figures are compiled on slightly different bases, but the scale holds: Australia has delivered more electric vehicles in six months than in all of last year. January’s 8.4% share was, in effect, the 2025 full-year average.
The growth is concentrated in identifiable products. Tesla recorded 8,670 June deliveries, up 88.9% year-on-year and well above its previous monthly record of 6,433 set only in May; 93% were the Model Y. BYD’s battery electric range, led by the Sealion 7 (4,730, from 1,538 in May) and Atto 2 (2,482), contributed the largest share of its record month. That concentration carries a channel implication: some of the market’s growth is flowing through direct-sales structures rather than traditional franchised networks, bringing different margin, servicing and aftermarket economics. It also carries a compliance implication. Under the NVES, high-BEV brands accumulate tradeable credits while high-volume brands still weighted to petrol and diesel face a widening gap to close through product or credit purchases.
| # | Model | June deliveries | Powertrain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 8,072 | BEV |
| 2 | Ford Ranger | 5,999 | Diesel |
| 3 | Toyota HiLux | 5,175 | Diesel |
| 4 | BYD Sealion 7 | 4,730 | BEV |
| 5 | Toyota RAV4 | 4,115 | Hybrid |
| 6 | BYD Shark 6 | 3,398 | PHEV |
| 7 | Isuzu D-Max | 2,740 | Diesel |
| 8 | Hyundai Kona | 2,505 | Petrol / Hybrid / BEV |
| 9 | BYD Atto 2 | 2,482 | BEV |
| 10 | GWM Haval Jolion | 2,446 | Petrol / Hybrid |
Deliveries from all sources, per VFACTS data reported by CarExpert. Table includes Tesla figures reported through the EVC.
The top 10 confirms the pattern: three battery electric model lines, one plug-in hybrid and hybrid variants across several nameplates, with diesel utes holding three positions. The BYD Shark 6 outsold the Isuzu D-Max to become the third-highest-selling ute. The small SUV segment was the market’s most closely contested, with the Hyundai Kona (2,505), BYD Atto 2 (2,482), GWM Haval Jolion (2,446) and Chery Tiggo 4 (2,329) finishing within 176 sales of one another. June opens this running top 10 series; subsequent reports will track movement, entries and exits.
What it means for the tyre industry
The customer base described above will begin arriving in tyre retailers’ service bays within 12 to 24 months, and it differs from the fleet the industry has planned around for a decade.
OE fitment mix is changing first. The country’s two highest-volume SUVs are now battery electric models, typically supplied on 19-inch and 20-inch low-rolling-resistance fitments, including EV-specific or acoustically treated constructions. Wear characteristics compound the effect: Michelin’s published EV guidance states that tyres on an EV can wear 20–30% faster than on a comparable combustion car, the reason manufacturers have developed EV-specific constructions and compounds. Because June’s growth was private-buyer-led, the retail channel will play a larger role in selling those replacement sets than it would if the growth were concentrated in fleets.
Chinese OE relationships deserve equal attention. With Chinese-built vehicles at 35.5% of VFACTS June deliveries, tyre brands holding OE positions with BYD, GWM, Chery and Geely gain a growing installed base. First replacement is where OE familiarity converts to aftermarket share. Distributors should establish which brands are arriving on these volume models now, before those vehicles reach their first replacement cycle.
Segment mix is the third shift. SUVs took 65.9% of the June market by category, against 19.9% for light commercials and 11.2% for passenger cars, per VFACTS. Within that, medium SUVs recorded 46,693 deliveries, up 55% year-on-year, while 4×4 utes declined 14% and large SUVs 14.6%. If sustained, that points to softer growth in light truck and all-terrain patterns and stronger demand in touring and EV-specific SUV sizes, a rebalancing that runs counter to a decade of ute-led range planning.
The test beyond June
June leaves one question open: how much of the 23.3% BEV share reflects end-of-financial-year timing, and how much represents a new baseline. The answer matters beyond the contest between Toyota and BYD or the ability of the Shark 6 and Sealion 7 to hold their top-10 positions. For the tyre industry, it will determine whether the changes already visible in OE relationships, fitment sizes and replacement demand are a record-month spike or the clearest evidence yet of a market being structurally reshaped.
Sources
- FCAI: New vehicle market records strongest month ever (June 2026 VFACTS release)
- CarExpert: VFACTS June 2026, brand, model, segment and fuel-type tables
- The Driven: Australian electric vehicle sales by month in 2026 (FCAI and EVC data)
- FCAI: May 2026 VFACTS release
- FCAI: April 2026 VFACTS release
- FCAI: March 2026 VFACTS release
- AfMA: February 2026 EV market share (VFACTS-based)
- Department of Infrastructure and Transport: New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, frequently asked questions
- Electric Vehicle Council: EV sales hit record highs in 2025 (calendar-2025 baseline)
- Michelin: EV tyre wear guidance (electric mobility guide)
