VFACTS July 2026: Record new-vehicle sales in July as Toyota RAV4, HiLux lead the market

The Australian new-vehicle market had its best July on record, with Chinese auto brands and Tesla enjoying a strong month but Toyota still well and truly in pole position.

A total of 108,577 new vehicles were delivered in July 2026, up 4.2 per cent on July 2025.

This is according to data CarExpert collated from the Electric Vehicle Council's monthly report, as well as the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' monthly VFACTS report obtained independently by CarExpert.

China continues to be our main source of new vehicles despite Toyota's lofty position atop the sales charts, and petrol engines continue to be the overall powertrain of choice despite huge gains by electric vehicles (EVs).

However, electrified vehicles – including not only EVs but hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), albeit not mild-hybrids – accounted for almost half of the market, or 48.4 per cent.

Brands

Toyota was the top-selling brand as usual and, unlike in June when BYD was just 243 units behind, in July it wasn't even close.

The Japanese juggernaut delivered almost three times as many vehicles as second-placed BYD, despite its sales being down 6.0 per cent year-on-year (YoY).

BYD had flagged its June result was a "a feat unlikely to be repeated for some time", but it still held a healthy lead over third-placed Kia.

Every non-Chinese brand bar Tesla in the top 10 was down YoY, but only one Chinese brand – GWM – was down.

Kia took the bronze in July with 6553 deliveries, down 11.5 per cent YoY. The popular Seltos was down 67.6 per cent, but this is not altogether surprising given a new generation of the small SUV is due this year. More worryingly for Kia, its Tasman ute accounted for just 382 deliveries, down 44 per cent YoY.

Despite its BT-50 outselling the Tasman by more than two-to-one, Mazda was relegated to fourth position. While many of its models were down, the recently redesigned CX-5 posted a modest increase (1836, up 0.8 per cent), the ageing Mazda 2 had a good month (257, up 26.6 per cent), and the new Mazda 6e electric liftback outsold the Tesla Model 3 (283 vs 134).

Ford was down 12.1 per cent, despite the F-150 leading the full-size pickup segment and the full-size Transit van range posting increases. The Ranger 4x4 was up YoY but the 4x2 was down, and the Blue Oval ute fell behind the rival Toyota HiLux for the month, though is still ahead year-to-date.

Strong Kona sales couldn't stop Hyundai from posting a 10.4 per cent decline, putting it in sixth place.

Tesla sales surged on the back of the recently launched Model Y L, while the Model Y also posted a 299.1 per cent increase. July 2025 was a disappointing month for Tesla deliveries, but July 2026 saw it notch up 4778 units and finish seventh overall.

The top 10 was rounded out by Chery, GWM and MG, with another Chinese brand – Geely – finishing in 11th position. Its new EX2 was Australia's second-best-selling light car in July with 474 units in its first recorded month of deliveries.

Following Xpeng's debut in monthly VFACTS reports in June, fellow Chinese brand GAC is now reporting its sales figures. That leaves only a handful of holdouts, including Cadillac, Mahindra and Smart, which choose not to disclose their sales figures in either VFACTS or EVC sales reports each month.

Models

The Toyota RAV4 led the market in July, recording its best month all year. The entire lineup is now available, and Toyota has confirmed almost 40 per cent of RAV4s delivered in July were plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

The HiLux has long dominated 4x2 ute sales but fallen behind the Ranger in 4x4 sales. The recently redesigned ute turned the tables in July, beating the Ranger in 4x4 sales (4119 vs 3827). That also secured it second place overall on the sales charts.

Tesla is reporting deliveries of its stretched Model Y L separately from the Model Y it's based on. Even diluted like this, the Tesla SUVs were among the most popular models on the market.

The Model Y L was the fifth-best-selling vehicle in July, with the Model Y in sixth. Combine their tallies and Tesla delivered 4644 SUVs – still behind the RAV4 and HiLux, but pushing past the Ranger (4042) and BYD Sealion 7 (2548).

We've opted to count the Model Y L as a large SUV based on its dimensions; no FCAI classification exists as Tesla hasn't reported its sales to the industry body since 2024.

The Chery Tiggo 4 narrowly beat out the Hyundai Kona for the title of best-selling small SUV, and is narrowly ahead year-to-date as well (15,794 vs 15,228). The two small SUVs were in seventh and eighth position on the overall sales charts in July.

In another example of Toyota turning the tables on Ford, its Prado pushed past the rival Everest in July (2082 vs 1697). The Blue Oval-badged SUV is ahead year-to-date, however, with 12,830 examples delivered against 11,184 Prados.

The top 10 was rounded out by the Geely EX5 (2034 deliveries), with the 7X from Geely-owned Zeekr in 11th with 1892 deliveries.

No Mitsubishis finished in the top 20, though the Triton and Outlander finished just outside it in 21st and 22nd position, respectively.

Segments

• Micro cars: Kia Picanto (388), Fiat/Abarth 500 (11)
• Light cars: MG 3 (844), Geely EX2 (474), BYD Atto 1 (282)
• Small cars under $45,000: Toyota Corolla (1191), MG 4 EV Urban (666), Hyundai i30 (613)
• Small cars over $45,000: Volkswagen Golf (205), Audi A3 (148), Subaru WRX (119)
• Medium cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (1079), BYD Seal (394), Mazda 6e (283)
• Medium cars over $60,000: Mercedes-Benz CLA (211), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (122), BMW 3 Series (103)
• Large cars under $70,000: Skoda Superb (14)
• Large cars over $70,000: Mercedes-Benz E-Class (75), MG IM5 (46), BMW 5 Series (17)
• Upper large cars: Porsche Panamera (9), BMW 7 Series (5), Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1), Lotus Emeya (1)
• People movers under $70,000: Kia Carnival (851), Hyundai Staria (102), Ford Tourneo (29)
• People movers over $70,000: GAC M8 (65), Volkswagen ID. Buzz (51), Denza D9 (50)
• Sports cars under $90,000: Ford Mustang (155), Honda Prelude (77), Mazda MX-5 (69)
• Sports cars over $90,000: Mercedes-Benz CLE (104), BMW 2 Series Coupe (77), BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible (39)
• Sports cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (86), Ferrari two-door range (19), Lamborghini two-door range (10)

• Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (1022), Toyota Yaris Cross (832), Suzuki Jimny (575)
• Small SUVs under $45,000: Chery Tiggo 4 (2156), Hyundai Kona (2096), GWM Haval Jolion (1662)
• Small SUVs over $45,000: Kia EV3 (804), BMW X1/iX1 (392), Mercedes-Benz GLA (236)
• Medium SUVs under $65,000: Toyota RAV4 (5564), BYD Sealion 7 (2548), Tesla Model Y (2215)
• Medium SUVs over $65,000: Zeekr 7X (1892), Kia EV5 (650), Mercedes-Benz GLC wagon (489)
• Large SUVs under $80,000: Tesla Model Y L (2429), Toyota Prado (2082), Ford Everest (1697)
• Large SUVs over $80,000: Land Rover Defender (433), BMW X5 (176), Lexus RX (167)
• Upper large SUVs under $120,000: Toyota LandCruiser (1399), Nissan Patrol (509), Denza B8 (113)
• Upper large SUVs over $120,000: Lexus GX (95), Mercedes-Benz G-Class (67), Lexus LX (60)

• Small vans: Volkswagen Caddy (52), Peugeot Partner (19), Renault Kangoo (7)
• Medium vans: Toyota HiAce (853), Hyundai Staria Load (198), LDV Deliver 7 (159)
• 4x2 utes: Toyota HiLux (602), Isuzu D-Max (463), Mitsubishi Triton (238)
• 4x4 utes: Toyota HiLux (4119), Ford Ranger (3827), Isuzu D-Max (1292)
• Large pickups: Ford F-150 (147), Chevrolet Silverado HD (147), Ram 1500 (143)

Sales by category

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Top segments by market share

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by region

Excludes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by buyer type

Excludes Tesla, Polestar and heavy commercial sales.

Sales by fuel or propulsion type

Excludes heavy commercial sales.

Sales by country of origin

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

You can access our coverage of previous months below:

• June 2026
• May 2026
• April 2026
• March 2026
• February 2026
• January 2026