China builds 80 per cent of new electric cars sold in Australia as records fall

Deliveries of new cars built in China have continued to break records in Australia – outnumbering those from South Korea, Germany and the US to become the third-biggest source of new vehicles – and now represent more than 15 per cent of sales.

However it is electric cars – not petrol and diesel cars – powering most of the record growth, with 20,244 of the 25,468 (79 per cent) electric vehicles reported as sold so far this year made in China.

While sales of petrol-powered, Chinese-built cars increased by about 26 per cent last year – compared to 2022 – local deliveries of electric vehicles produced in China nearly tripled, up 174 per cent.

Chinese-made electric cars outsell cars from Germany and the US of all types combined – and if they were a country of origin, they would be Australia's fourth-largest 'source' of new vehicles, behind cars from China of all power sources.

Five years ago no electric cars sold in Australia were made in China. Today, 42 per cent of Chinese-built vehicles sold are electric.

It is up from 37.4 per cent in 2023, 21.5 per cent in 2022, and an estimated 15.5 per cent in 2021 – months after Tesla shipped its first vehicles from China to Australia

The top seller of Chinese-made cars so far this year is not a domestic brand such as MG, GWM or LDV, but Tesla – which is headquartered in the US, but builds its cars for Australia in Shanghai.

The Tesla Model Y electric SUV is the most popular Chinese-built car so far this year – even though it was primarily designed and engineered in the US – with 6835 deliveries, up 116 per cent compared to the same period in 2023.

It is closely followed by the MG ZS small SUV – priced from $22,990 drive-away – which this time last year was in second place behind the Tesla Model 3 sedan, now the third-best-selling Chinese-made car with 5954 deliveries, down 17.7 per cent.

After the Model 3 it is daylight to the fourth-placed vehicle, the GWM Haval Jolion small SUV, with 3460 sales in the first three months of 2024, up 29.9 per cent on the same period last year.

The Model Y and Model 3 were the top-selling electric vehicles in Australia in the first three months of this year – irrespective of country of origin – followed by the BYD Atto 3 (2220 sales), BYD Seal (1573 sales) and MG 4 (1335 sales).

The MG ZS EV was Australia's second best-selling electric vehicle in 2021 – behind the Tesla Model 3 – but sits in 14th so far this year, amid the arrival of newer rivals, including the MG 4 in the same showroom.

It was outsold by the Toyota BZ4X which only commenced deliveries at the end of February.

The BMW i4 clocked up a record 236 deliveries last month – for a seventh-place finish – 86 per cent of which were the entry-level eDrive 35 variant which slides under the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold to take advantage of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemptions for novated lease customers.