EV Sales in Australia — April Update

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Compared with March 2025, plug-in vehicle sales dropped slightly in both New Zealand and Australia in April. In Australia, 8,628 cars with a plug were sold, making up 9.3% of the market (6.4% BEV — 6027 units; 2.9% PHEV — 2601 units). In New Zealand, 649 cars with a plug were sold, approximately 10% of the market (7.3% BEV — 442 units, 3% PHEV — 207 units). I’ll cover New Zealand further in a coming article. For now, let’s look closer at Australia.

Much of the decline is attributed to Tesla’s flagging sales. Is it the wait for the Model Y refresh, or Elon’s alliance with Trump? We should know when the May figures come out with Juniper deliveries. However, Tesla sold a mere 500 cars in Australia in April 2025 — 220 Model 3s and 280 Model Ys. The Tesla Model 3 was the second best selling passenger vehicle after the Toyota Camry, if that is any consolation.

My next report on May’s figures should be better for Tesla in Australia. One of my Facebook correspondents posted: “the RORO ‘Grand Pace’ arrived in Wollongong late last night from its journey from China. Around 6am the ferry pilots navigated her into Port Kembla harbour. She is now in place, docked in Australia full of all the Launch series Junipers!” That should buoy the numbers.

BYD was the leading brand in Australia, selling 3,202 plug-ins (1,639 of these BEVs). Kia took the silver with 751 and MG the bronze with 594. The BYD Shark 6 PHEV is selling well (1,293) and we are starting to see these plug-in monsters in the wild — at shopping centres and along the highway. However, with the end of tax breaks for plug-in hybrids, demand is slowing. One enthusiastic Shark owner showed up at our recent coffee morning.

The Australian top 10 for April 2025 were:

1. BYD Sealion — 743 (year to date/YTD — 1473)
2. MG 4 — 363 (YTD — 1,698)
3. BYD Atto 3 — 355 (YTD — 956)
4. Kia EV5 — 342 (YTD — 1,509)
5. Kia EV3 — 336 (on debut)
6. BYD Seal — 325 (YTD — 627)
7. Geely EX5 — 324 (YTD — 512)
8. Tesla Model Y — 280 (YTD — 3,394)
9. MG ZS — 227 (YTD — 823)
10. Tesla Model 3 — 220 (YTD — 2,266)

The Kia EV3 (World Car of the Year 2025) entered the chart at number 5 on debut. This will be a value package to watch. We will be attending the local launch this evening — stay tuned for the next article! We even saw one at the local supermarket, but weren’t quick enough to get a photo as it drove away. The Hyundai Inster has also just launched — we will be visiting our local dealership for a peek tomorrow. The Geely EX5 is posting decent numbers considering it has only been on the Australian market for two months. Out of the trio of affordable BEVs — the MG4, the BYD Dolphin, and the GM ORA — only the MG4 has lived up to its sales potential. Year to date, only 431 Dolphins have sold, and 196 ORA.

Also noteworthy further down the chart for increasing numbers each month are the Polestar 4, Cupra Born, and Omoda E5. At the other end of the market, MG has sold 23 of its midlife-crisis Cyberster this year.

The top sellers in the Australian fossil fuel market, Ford and Toyota, are not doing so well selling EVs. Toyota sold just 89 (BZ4X) in April and Ford 32 (Mustang Mach-E). Compare this with the luxury brands — Porsche sold 150, BMW 489, and Mercedes-Benz 149.

An unexpected result was the slight drop in sales of Toyota mild hybrids (HEV). In many markets, sales of HEVs are increasing as Toyota and others electrify their fleets. Toyota is aiming for half of its sales in 2025 to be HEV. Toyota is facing increased competition in this market segment from Hyundai and Great Wall Motors.