Toyota Australia won’t rule out cheaper Chinese-made cars

Toyota Australia says it’s not yet planning to join the growing list of automakers offering Chinese-made models in Australia, with Ford and Nissan among the latest brands to announce China-made vehicles for its local lineup.

New-vehicle prices have been tumbling in Australia, with recent cuts seeing the made-in-China BYD Atto 1 become the cheapest car outright – alongside the MG 3, also from China – at $19,990 drive-away.

The Chinese-made Chery Tiggo 4 small SUV is effectively tied with the Mahindra XUV 3XO as Australia’s cheapest SUV, with deals from $22,490 drive-away, while the BYD Atto 2 DM-i small SUV is now the cheapest plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in showrooms with a launch offer of $25,990 drive-away.

Tesla Australia, too, switched sourcing of its range-topping Model Y Performance from Germany to China early this month, while cutting its price by $4500 to $84,900 before on-road costs.

It also introduced a new entry-level Model 3 sedan – also made in China – priced at $45,900 before on-road costs, making it the cheapest electric sedan in Australian new-car showrooms.

An entry-level Toyota Camry hybrid sedan, made in Japan and similarly-sized to the Model 3, remains priced at $39,990 before on-road costs, while Toyota Australia increased the price of the Corolla hatch by as much as $1000 at the beginning of October 2026.

Speaking to CarExpert, John Pappas, Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, said price cuts from rivals don’t change the brand’s approach and won’t force it to source cars from China in an effort to lower showroom prices.

“We can’t control what other companies do with their prices, and we respect all our competitors, but at the end of the day, for us, being competitive is more than just the price of the car,” Mr Pappas said.

“It’s all about the whole ecosystem, the ownership experience. It’s about resale value; it’s about investing in the infrastructure of all the distribution parts centres – we just launched one in Western Australia; we’re about to launch a brand new one in Brisbane.

“So, for us, it’s all about making sure that we have strong QDR [Quality, Durability and Reliability] and brand trust for our customers, and we have a full end-to-end experience.”

Toyota has produced vehicles in China since 2000, and today manufactures there through joint ventures with FAW and GAC, both of which have links to brands entering the Australian market.

GAC launched in Australia in November 2025, while FAW plans to sell Hongqi passenger cars here from 2027 under the ‘HQ’ brand.

Last month, Toyota was reported to be planning production of its first extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) in China from 2027, though no plans to export them have been confirmed.

While Toyota has a wide range of vehicles developed for China with its joint venture partners, few are available in right-hand drive. However, the bZ3X – a close cousin to the GAC Aion V sold here – is exported in right-hand drive to Hong Kong.

“Being a global company like Toyota, being in 190 markets around the world, and having manufacturing facilities and partnerships globally, we’ll always be looking at where we source our vehicles,” Mr Pappas said.

“We don’t rule out any particular country as long as that vehicle is going to play a market need for our customer within that segment. We’ll always be considering those options. Like I said to you before, Toyota competitiveness is not just about the price of a car.”

Key rival Ford recently announced its first two Chinese-made models, the Bronco Basecamp and Transit City, for its Australian lineup.

The US brand joins Mazda, Mini, Hyundai, Volkswagen-owned Cupra and Tesla in offering China-made vehicles in Australia.

According to Lucas Harris, chief operating officer of Chinese brand Chery Australia, automakers such as Ford have little choice but to source vehicles from China if they want to keep pace with rivals.

“I think that they have really no choice if they want to remain competitive; to look at ways to do that, and if one of those ways is to produce vehicles in China, well, you could hardly knock them for it, can you?”

Ford Australia marketing director Ambrose Henderson told CarExpert the company is constantly looking at vehicles from its global lineup for local showrooms, which he says gives it a competitive edge.

“It's not about the cheapest car ... what we’re doing is adding to that the technology that China is able to deliver from a transitional-technology perspective, from a powertrain transitional-technology perspective, to add to that portfolio,” Mr Henderson said.

“So, for us, are we worried about where we source the product from? No. What we’re focused on is using our global network and our global power to get the right products for the Australian customer based on what they need.”

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