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BYD has officially hit the sales podium in Australia’s biggest and most competitive vehicle segment – mid-size SUVs – with its Sealion 7 electric vehicle (EV) snagging a top-three spot behind the Tesla Model Y and Toyota RAV4.
September VFACTS figures reveal 1887 examples of the Sealion 7 were delivered last month in the model’s first full year on sale, accounting for a 9.7 per cent share of the sub-$60,000 medium SUV segment.
The Sealion 7 trailed only the aforementioned Model Y (3927) and RAV4 (2554), but beat out segment stalwarts like the Mitsubishi Outlander (1785), Mazda CX-5 (1725) and Hyundai Tucson (1588). It also nabbed eighth place in the overall nameplate standings for the first time.
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While the Sealion 7 was firmly BYD’s top-selling model in September, so far this year the Chinese brand’s best seller is still the plug-in hybrid Shark 6 dual-cab ute, which to the end of September has tallied 14,111 registrations.
BYD has cemented its place in Australia’s list of top 10 brands in 2025, currently sitting in eighth place year-to-date with 37,923 registrations – representing growth of 149.8 per cent on the January-September period in 2024.
That puts the Chinese brand well ahead of Tesla (22,653) though it sells EVs and PHEVs, whereas its American-based rival only sells the former. It leads fellow Chinese brand MG (32,620) and Isuzu Ute (31,760) in the top 10 sales race, and is nipping at the heels of China’s GWM (39,343) in seventh.
China as a whole became Australia’s second largest source of new vehicles in September, without including sales of the Chinese-built Model 3 and Model Y. Further, EV sales (excluding Tesla) made up a record 11.3 per cent overall market share for the month, while PHEVs accounted for 4.4 per cent of the market in September.
Have you recently bought a BYD Sealion 7? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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James Wong is an automotive journalist and former PR consultant, recognised among Australia’s most prolific motoring writers.
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