Car sales June 2026: Tesla Model Y tops list again as EVs achieve major milestones
At a glance:
- Tesla Model Y top seller for second month in a row
- Plug-in vehicles account for 30 per cent of car market
- BYD nabs three places in top ten
New car sales results are in for June 2026, and there are a few notable milestones: firstly, that the Tesla Model Y has made its way to the top of the list for two months in a row with more than 8000 sales, a first in Australian automotive history. Secondly, it is just one of three battery electric vehicles in the top ten – a new benchmark for EVs in Australia.
Thirdly, Chinese juggernaut BYD also had three vehicles in the top ten – a milestone for the brand in Australia, which sells six BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and six PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles). Its best-sellers in the top ten include the all-electric BYD Sealion 7, the plug-in hybrid BYD Shark 6 and the all-electric BYD Atto 2).
This is according to figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), which collates figures from Tesla and Polestar. Along with sales from other new Chinese brands, the FCAI noted that China is now the main source of new vehicles in Australia: 46,592 new car sales in June, making up 35.5 per cent, were from the Asian nation. Cars from Japan accounted for 20.7 per cent of sales, or 27,908 vehicles.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber noted this paradigm shift in a statement: “The Australian automotive market has shifted on its axis during the first months of 2026. This year is likely to represent a significant turning point for the Australian automotive industry.”
Top-selling cars in Australia – June 2026:
The Model Y’s 8072 unit sales made up more than one-third of Tesla’s year-to-date sales (24,790) for the first half of 2026. A spokesperson for Tesla told Open Road that its newest arrival, the seven-seater Model Y L “resonated strongly with families, capturing a significant share of Model Y sales and reinforcing its position as a standout choice in the segment”.
Joining the Model Y in the top ten best-selling cars in June 2026 was the Ford Ranger at number two with 5999 units sold, the BYD Sealion 7 at number three with 4730 units sold, while the Toyota HiLux took fourth place with 5175 units sold. Toyota also seized fifth place with the new RAV4 (4115 units sold), followed by the BYD Shark at sixth (3398 units sold).
Filling out the lower end of the top ten was the Isuzu D-Max (2740 units) at number seven, the Hyundai Kona at number eight (2505 units), the BYD Atto 2 at number nine (2482 units) and the Haval Jolion (2446 units).
The biggest jumps in top ten sales compared to the same month in 2025 were that of the BYD Sealion 7 (163.5 per cent increase) and the Tesla Model Y (a 44 per cent increase), while the biggest losers were the Toyota HiLux (a 16.5 per cent drop) and the Isuzu D-Max (a 12.2 per cent drop).
|
Make & Model |
June 2026 |
June 2025 |
Month % Diff |
|
Tesla Model Y |
8072 |
5605 |
44% |
|
Ford Ranger |
5999 |
6293 |
-4.7% |
|
BYD Sealion 7 |
4730 |
1795 |
163.5% |
|
Toyota HiLux |
5175 |
6195 |
-16.5% |
|
Toyota RAV4 |
4115 |
2421 |
70% |
|
BYD Shark 6 |
3398 |
2993 |
13.5% |
|
Isuzu D-Max |
2740 |
3119 |
-12.2% |
|
Hyundai Kona |
2505 |
2484 |
0.8% |
|
BYD Atto 2 |
2482 |
- |
- |
|
Haval Jolion |
2446 |
2000 |
22.3% |
Which brands performed best in June 2026?
Despite the impressive stats for the big electric brands and another drop in Hilux sales, Toyota still managed to topped car sales by brand with 19,124 units sold. This was followed by BYD, with 18,881 units sold. Ford came in at number three with 9181 units sold.
Tesla’s two-model strategy may seem thin on the ground but thanks to the strong Model Y sales, it still managed to nab fourth place with 8670 sales for the month (598 were Model 3 sedans).
Other top-selling brands for the month included Kia (9181 sales), Mazda (7278 sales), Hyundai (7480 sales), GWM (6104 sales), Chery (4505 sales) and Mitsubishi (4150 sales).
|
Brand |
June 2026 |
YTD 2026 |
June Share |
YTD Share |
|
Toyota |
19,124 |
95,141 |
14.6% |
15.7% |
|
BYD |
18,881 |
52,335 |
14.4% |
8.6% |
|
Ford |
9,181 |
42,296 |
7.0% |
7.0% |
|
Kia |
8,005 |
41,846 |
6.1% |
6.9% |
|
Mazda |
7,278 |
40,502 |
5.6% |
6.7% |
|
Hyundai |
7,480 |
39,590 |
5.7% |
6.5% |
|
GWM |
6,104 |
30,359 |
4.7% |
5.0% |
|
Chery |
4,505 |
24,964 |
3.4% |
4.1% |
|
Mitsubishi |
4,150 |
24,802 |
3.2% |
4.1% |
|
MG |
5,001 |
23,146 |
3.8% |
3.8% |
EV and hybrid car sales: A closer look
Open Road cannot share full sales details by fuel type for June 2026, after the FCAI chose this month not to distribute complete data to the automotive media for the month.
Instead, we can share figures made available by the EVC, which said that sales of EVs reached 30,618 in total for the month, consisting of 21,303 BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and 9315 PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles). This brings EV sales to almost 30 per cent, a new benchmark for Australia. BEV sales doubled year-on-year to 20.6 per cent of new car sales, and PHEV sales increased by more than 200 per cent.
BYD also shared full figures for its vehicle sales, as the EVC did for Tesla and Polestar. Between the three carmakers, these sales make up 90 per cent of the plug-in car market including both BEV and PHEVs.
Top selling vehicles within this dataset were as follows:
|
|
June 2026 |
June 2025 |
YTD 2026 |
YTD 2025 |
June Share |
YTD Share |
|
Tesla Model Y |
8072 |
3457 |
20396 |
10431 |
133.5% |
95.5% |
|
BYD Sealion 7 |
4730 |
1795 |
12516 |
3756 |
163.5% |
233.2% |
|
BYD Shark 6 |
3398 |
2993 |
9493 |
10424 |
13.5% |
-8.9% |
|
BYD Atto 2 |
2482 |
0 |
5401 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
BYD Sealion 6 |
2218 |
1604 |
5312 |
4375 |
38.3% |
21.4% |
|
BYD Sealion 8 |
1961 |
0 |
5380 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
BYD Sealion 5 |
933 |
0 |
2709 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
BYD Atto 1 |
871 |
0 |
3254 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
BYD Seal |
769 |
627 |
2654 |
1609 |
22.6% |
64.9% |
|
BYD Atto 3 |
677 |
576 |
3052 |
1854 |
17.5% |
64.6% |
|
BYD Dolphin |
645 |
561 |
2315 |
1337 |
15.0% |
73.1% |
|
Tesla Model 3 |
598 |
1132 |
3192 |
3715 |
-47.2% |
-14.1% |
|
Polestar 4 |
201 |
174 |
902 |
676 |
15.5% |
33.4% |
|
BYD Seal 6 |
197 |
0 |
249 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Polestar 2 |
36 |
135 |
264 |
396 |
-73.3% |
-33.3% |
|
Polestar 3 |
17 |
30 |
36 |
101 |
-43.3% |
-64.4% |
|
TOTAL |
27,805 |
13,084 |
77,125 |
38,674 |
