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Not all Chinese car brands are having a good time in Australia this year, with some struggling to make an impact in the competitive market.
China is now officially the largest source of new cars in Australia, but some brands are doing it tougher than others when it comes to capturing local market share.
With BYD, GWM, MG, and Chery now firmly entrenched in the Top 10 list and paving the way to success, it has highlighted that not every Chinese marque might not be able to follow in their wake.
Yes, these big Chinese players are proving mighty popular for local buyers – and increasing their share monthly – but just how much have they grown this year?
And conversely, who are some of the Chinese brands that have proven less popular than last year?
BYD – Australia’s overall second-best-selling brand last month – has increased its year-on-year share by 110.8 per cent to 25,243 units now with a model line that rivals established marques like Mazda and Kia.
The brand’s most popular model so far this year has been the Sealion 7 all-electric family SUV, outpacing last year’s rate by 324.2 per cent to 6248 registrations.
This makes it the second-most popular electric vehicle (EV) in the country, nipping at the heels of the Tesla Model Y that is on 6719 sales.
Of the 11 models on offer, only the Sealion 6 plug-in hybrid SUV and Shark 6 ute have slowed in pace, down 2.8 and 20.9 per cent respectively to 2292 and 4851 sales YTD.
However, the latter is due to receive a range expansion in the form of a cab-chassis and flagship version with boosted brake towing capacity and performance soon.
Denza, BYD’s premium sub-brand, has also made an impact despite launching with just two models earlier this year.
The most popular Denza option so far has proven to the Toyota Prado-rivalling B5 SUV, finding 729 new homes so far this year, followed by the larger B8 on 394 sales.
With the D9’s eight sales so far, it takes Denza’s total to 1131 sales after four months, more than doubling Genesis’ 464 tally over the same period, and putting the brand on pace for around 3400 by the end of the year.
Similarly, Chery has increased its sales by 92.4 per cent so far this year – largely thanks to the Tiggo 4 small SUV that has amassed 9186 sales so far to be the best-selling small SUV in the country.
This small SUV preference is also reflected in spin-off brand Omoda Jaecoo’s tally, with the J5 proving the most popular model in its stable with 1845 sales so far this year.
Geely, one of the biggest names in China, is also enjoying phenomenal growth this year, up 842.8 per cent – albeit from a low base.
With only two models to sell so far, the EX5 all-electric SUV has notched 2639 sales to prove most popular, but the Starray plug-in hybrid has still found a respectable 2188 customers in 2026.
GWM continues to go from strength-to-strength, up 26.8 per cent in sales this year to a 19,595 tally.
The off-road-leaning brand’s most popular models so far are the Haval Jolion small SUV (7360, +31.8 per cent), Haval H6 (5063, +14.6 per cent), and Cannon and Cannon Alpha ute range (3977, no YoY percentage data).
Stellantis’ Leapmotor is also gaining ground, though again from a small base, with a 116.5 per cent volume growth largely attributable to the introduction of the B10 all-electric small SUV that has 234 out of the 420 total sales to its name.
Finally, Zeekr has exploded in popularity after the introduction of its 7X family SUV, increasing its market share by 955 per cent so far this year.
With 2698 sales to its name, the 7X is easily eclipsing the 009 people mover (59 sales) and X small SUV (81) in local popularity.
However, being a Chinese brand is not a panacea for success in Australia, with the local market proving hard to conquer for some.
MG, who enjoyed phenomenal growth in the last few years and was the leading Chinese brand until overtaken recently by BYD, is down in sales this year, shedding 1.6 per cent to a 14,273-unit tally.
Still, new models like the QS large SUV, U9 ute, and S5 EV, as well as well as its IM5 and IM6 under the premium IM sub-brand, are helping MG’s bottom line even if interest in the MG3 and MG4 dwindle.
JAC is also struggling, down 55.2 per cent in sales this year to 359 for its sole T9 ute model, but with plans to take on the BYD Shark 6 with its Hunter plug-in hybrid, should see sales pick up.
Likewise, LDV – specialising in off-road models, vans, and people movers – has lost 13.1 per cent share so far this year, achieving 4172 sales despite rolling out the Terron 9 last year.
Finally, a handful of newcomer brands that launched in the last 12 months have not gained much traction in the competitive new-car scene.
Foton has found 429 customers so far this year for its ute line-up, while fellow Inchcape-distributed Deepal has only registered 423 sales so far this year.
For the latter, its S07 SUV (346) proving more popular than its E07 ute-cum-SUV (77).
Light-commercial vehicle specialist Farizon also only has 74 sales so far this year, but an incoming range expansion is expected to help interest.
Of note, XPeng – which is distributed by TrueEV – does not report sales data to VFACTS.
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
