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BYD – which only sells electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles – entered the Top Five last month, beating Kia and Mitsubishi, with its Shark 6 being one of the nation's best-selling utes.
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BYD has recorded its best-ever month of sales in Australia with more than 8000 vehicles delivered in June 2025 – a 368 per cent increase from the same month last year.
It is the first time BYD has placed in the Top Five best-selling brands in Australia, and follows the launch of its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute and two mid-size SUVs – the Sealion 6 PHEV and electric Sealion 7 – in recent months.
Mid-size SUVs and four-wheel-drive utes account for the highest share of new-car sales in Australia.
Under its former EVDirect third-party distributor, BYD introduced its Atto 3 small electric SUV in 2022, followed by the Dolphin hatch and Seal sedan in 2023, Sealion 6 in 2024, and Shark 6 and Sealion 7 in 2025.
BYD has taken over operations in Australia as of July 1, 2025, and plans to launch at least two additional models – the Atto 2 city electric SUV and the Sealion 8 seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV – within months.
In a media release, BYD Australia said EVDirect – led by managing director Luke Todd and, more recently, CEO David Smitherman – "played a significant role in launching BYD passenger vehicles and expediting BYD’s growth in the Australian market, rapidly building the brand and laying a strong foundation".
"With each month, you can see just how popular BYD vehicles are becoming in Australia because you can see them on our roads,” BYD Australia chief operating officer – and former Honda Australia boss – Stephen Collins said.
"As we continue the transition to a fully-factory backed operation, we commend the foundation laid by our distribution partners as we strive to ensure this strong growth continues."
The Shark 6 ute was BYD's best-selling model in June with 2993 reported deliveries for a total of 10,424 year-to-date, despite the end of tax exemptions for PHEVs in April, followed by the Sealion 7 (1795), Sealion 6 (1604), Seal (627), Atto 3 (576), and Dolphin (561).
Year-to-date, BYD has sold 23,355 vehicles, ahead of Isuzu Ute (21,883), MG (21,674), Nissan (20,604), Subaru (19,910), Volkswagen (14,776) and Tesla (14,146).
The result is greater than the total number of vehicles BYD reported as sold in 2024 with another six months of 2025 remaining, well on track to a goal of delivering "more than 40,000 vehicles in Australia" in 2025 alone.
"We set out to bring affordable, world-class EVs to Australians and grow the BYD brand as fast as possible," added EVDirect CEO Luke Todd, who is no longer directly involved in the local management of the BYD brand.
"What we’ve achieved in just a few short years is remarkable, and now, as we hand over to BYD directly, we’re confident the momentum will only accelerate from here."
BYD will also introduce its Denza luxury sub-brand in Australia later this year – starting with the Toyota Prado-sized Denza B5 off-road SUV related to the Shark 6 ute – though its sales figures are likely to be counted separately from the main brand.
So far this year, GWM and BYD are the largest Chinese car brands in Australia, closely followed by MG and Chery, while LDV, Geely, Omoda Jaecoo, Zeekr, Leapmotor and Deepal trail further behind.
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Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
