New car sales rebound in June

New car sales in Australia rebounded in the month of June, as carmakers revelled in End of Financial Year sales and seemingly reaped the benefits of several cuts to the Reserve Bank cash rate.

Data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) this week reveal 127,437 vehicles were registered in June, up 6.2 per cent on the corresponding month in 2024.

The result was the fourth-highest June sales figure on record, and helped lift year-to-date sales to 624,130 vehicles – just 1.4 per cent less than the record-breaking 2024.

Amid the surging cost of living in Australia, the June result showed there is still some upside in the new car market – with the strongest end of financial year period since 2018.

Chinese carmakers BYD, GWM and Chery were arguably the biggest benefactors of buoyant sales. BYD reported a remarkable 8156 vehicles sold – more than a 300 per cent increase on the same period in 2024, good enough for fifth outright in sales – while Chery secured a record 3024 sales on the back of strong demand for its Tiggo 4 SUV, netting the brand 13th outright. GWM finished seventh outright.

Likewise, Tesla made huge gains following a turbulent few months, with the updated Model Y securing third outright in sales (3457 deliveries) and helping drive a 32.5 per cent lift in EV sales (13,169 in total).

Unsurprisingly, utes made a huge share of June sales – securing 25.3 per cent total market share. The big performers were the Ford Ranger (6,293), Toyota HiLux (6,195), Isuzu Ute D-Max (3,119) and BYD Shark 6 (2,993).

“In a market of more than 400 models, the top four utes made up 15.2 per cent of all sales during June. The rest of the top 10 was made up of SUVs and, when combined, models in the top 10 made up 27.2 per cent of all sales,” said FCAI chief executive Tony Weber.

On the other side of the coin, sedans and hatchbacks continued their decline, with sales down 27.9 per cent year-on-year to 15,190 units in June, now representing just 12.4 per cent of the total market.

Toyota was the market leader with sales of 20,225 during June, followed by Ford (10,103), Mazda (9,405), Hyundai (8,407) and BYD (8,156).