VFACTS December 2025: Strong finish for another record year of new vehicle sales

A record year for new-vehicle sales in Australia had a strong finish in December, despite a drop from the same month in the previous year.

A total of 101,513 new vehicles were delivered in December 2025, according to sales figures published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and the Electric Vehicle Council, up 1.9 per cent on December 2024’s result.

While the new-vehicle market reached a record high in 2025, overall sales growth was just 0.3 per cent year-on-year.

You can view our full 2025 sales breakdown here.

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Much of the growth for the month came from business sales, which were up 10.6 per cent year-on-year and helped offset declines in rental and government sales.

Private sales were up, but more modestly at 1.6 per cent. Note that these percentage changes don’t include Tesla and Polestar sales.

We’ve collated the separate figures reported by the FCAI and EVC below.

Brands

Market leader Toyota was down slightly in 2025, with a 0.6 per cent decline.

Ford and Mazda were up 2.8 and 4.2 per cent, respectively, though overall for the year they were down by a respective 5.8 and 4.2 per cent.

BYD stormed up the sales charts in December on the back of a huge month for the Sealion 7 electric SUV, with 6743 deliveries – up 238.3 per cent year-on-year. Overall, it finished eighth overall for the calendar year.

Echoing full-year results, Kia was ahead of sister brand Hyundai, with the top 10 rounded out by GWM, Mitsubishi, Chery and Isuzu Ute.

It was a big month for Chery with deliveries up 96 per cent year over year, though it wasn’t enough to earn it a top 10 spot for the year.

While Tesla was down 28.1 per cent year-on-year, it still finished ahead of MG which had a larger 41.9 per cent decline.

Models

The Toyota RAV4 was the top seller for the month but not the year, with 6038 deliveries, up 18 per cent year-on-year despite a new generation being just around the corner.

The podium was rounded out by the Ford Ranger, which was the best-selling vehicle overall in 2025, and the Toyota HiLux.

The BYD Sealion 7 was less than a hundred units behind the HiLux, with an exceptionally strong finish for its first year on the market that saw it outsell every other mid-size SUV (bar the RAV4) including the Tesla Model Y and Mitsubishi Outlander.

BYD’s Shark 6 ute also managed to outsell the Mitsubishi Triton by 52 units despite being available in a single plug-in hybrid variant, though it wasn’t enough to see it outsell the diesel ute for the entire calendar year. It was close though, with 18,073 Shark 6 sales versus 18,900 for the Triton.

The GWM Haval Jolion was the best-selling small SUV in December, with its 2062 deliveries putting it ahead of the Hyundai Kona (1733). However, the Kona beat it overall for the year (22,769 deliveries vs 19,413).

The Toyota Prado sat in 21st position for the month, with the rival Ford Everest trouncing it. Toyota delivered 1327 examples, down 50.6 per cent year-on-year, while Ford delivered 2149 Everests, a smaller 13.2 per cent reduction.

Toyota had the only passenger car in the top 20 with its evergreen Corolla. It was a long way down to the next top-selling passenger cars, the Mazda 3 (34th position, 807 deliveries) and Kia K4 (35th, 684 deliveries).

Segments

Below is a breakdown of the top-selling vehicles per segment.

• Micro cars: Kia Picanto (438), Fiat/Abarth 500 (34)
• Light cars under $30,000: MG 3 (514), Mazda 2 (363), Suzuki Swift (285)
• Light cars over $30,000: Mini Cooper (150), Volkswagen Polo (89), Hyundai i20 (68)
• Small cars under $45,000: Toyota Corolla (1568), Mazda 3 (807), Kia K4 (684)
• Small cars over $45,000: Audi A3 (268), Mercedes-Benz A-Class (209), Volkswagen Golf (182)
• Medium cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (551), BYD Seal (413), Skoda Octavia (61)
• Medium cars over $60,000: Tesla Model 3 (587), Audi A5 (227), BMW 3 Series (163)
• Large cars under $70,000: Skoda Superb (18)
• Large cars over $70,000: MG IM5 (32), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (32), BMW 5 Series (14)
• Upper large cars: BMW i7 (25), Mercedes-Benz S-Class (3), Rolls-Royce sedan range (3)
• People movers under $70,000: Kia Carnival (986), Hyundai Staria (96), Ford Tourneo (64)
• People movers over $70,000: Volkswagen ID. Buzz (108), Mercedes-Benz V-Class (36), Volkswagen Multivan (16)
• Sports cars under $90,000: Ford Mustang (340), Toyota GR86 (63), Mazda MX-5 (61)
• Sports cars over $90,000: BMW 2 Series Coupe (110), Mercedes-Benz CLE (72), BMW 4 Series two-door range (37)
• Sports cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (83), Mercedes-AMG GT (14), Aston Martin two-door range (13)

• Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (1166), Toyota Yaris Cross (870), Hyundai Venue (614)
• Small SUVs under $45,000: GWM Haval Jolion (2062), Chery Tiggo 4 (1998), Hyundai Kona (1733)
• Small SUVs over $45,000: BMW X1 (568), Volkswagen T-Roc (373), Audi Q3 (331)
• Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (6038), BYD Sealion 7 (2546), Mazda CX-5 (2021)
• Medium SUVs over $60,000: Tesla Model Y (1998), Audi Q5 (520), Lexus NX (501)
• Large SUVs under $80,000: Ford Everest (2149), Isuzu MU-X (1357), Toyota Prado (1327)
• Large SUVs over $80,000: BMW X5 (345), Mercedes-Benz GLE wagon (228), Land Rover Defender (227)
• Upper large SUVs under $120,000: Toyota LandCruiser (1343), Nissan Patrol (409), Land Rover Discovery (21)
• Upper large SUVs over $120,000: BMW X7 (111), Lexus GX (109), Mercedes-Benz GLS (74)

• Small vans: Volkswagen Caddy (67), Peugeot Partner (42), Renault Kangoo (18)
• Medium vans: Toyota HiAce (964), Ford Transit Custom (242), Hyundai Staria Load (205)
• 4×2 utes: Isuzu D-Max (486), Mazda BT-50 (290), Mitsubishi Triton (279)
• 4×4 utes: Ford Ranger (5255), Toyota HiLux (2406), BYD Shark (1675)
• Large pickups: Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (200), Ford F-150 (184), Ram 1500 (162)

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.

MORE: VFACTS 2025: Another record year for new vehicle sales in Australia, but growth modest overall