BYD has become the first Chinese carmaker to record a top five monthly sales result in Australia, delivering 8156 vehicles to customers in June 2025.
The previous highest-placed Chinese brand was MG, which in May 2023 took sixth with 4828 deliveries.
BYD’s June result was not only a significant increase of almost 70 per cent above its previous record of 4811 deliveries (set in March 2025), but also a rise of about 370 per cent on the same month last year.
Its tally also placed it just behind Hyundai (8407) but ahead of its South Korean stablemate Kia (7810), while Toyota (20,225), Ford (10,103) and Mazda (9405) led the way in June.
Leading the charge for BYD was the Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute, managing 2993 deliveries, which also promoted it to fifth place in the vehicle standings, behind only the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Tesla Model Y and Isuzu D-Max.
It’s the highest monthly sales figure for the Shark 6 since deliveries began in earnest this January, and comes despite the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for PHEVs ending on April 1. Initially feared as a potential roadblock to PHEV success, the latest figures prove that’s not the case.
Behind the Shark 6, the Sealion 7 electric SUV and Sealion 6 PHEV SUV also contributed to BYD’s success, recording 1795 and 1604 deliveries, respectively. The former outsold the combined tally of older electric BYD models, the Seal (627), Atto 3 (576) and Dolphin (561).
“With each month, you can see just how popular BYD vehicles are becoming in Australia because you can see them on our roads,” said newly appointed BYD Australia chief operating officer, Stephen Collins.
“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.”
Despite BYD’s strong month, it’s not the most popular Chinese brand for Australian buyers year-to-date, with its 23,355 deliveries (up 145 per cent on last year) behind GWM’s total of 25,189.
GWM itself set a personal monthly sales record in June, notching up 5464 deliveries to place it seventh, both on the monthly and year-to-date sales charts.
However, BYD surpassed MG in the opening six months, despite the latter having more models on sale at mostly lower price points. BYD has also moved past Isuzu, though the Japanese brand only sells two vehicles.
With BYD sitting in eighth spot for the year, it has three brands to pass if it wants to finish in the top five, however that feat seems unlikely.
Kia currently occupies the fifth spot on the sales charts with 40,750 deliveries so far this year. To pass it, BYD would need to deliver an average of 2900 more vehicles each month until the end of 2025.
Given that even with a record result in June it only outsold Kia by 346 vehicles, it would be a tall task to nab a top five place when December ends.
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