Edited by Asiautos Auto Part
In April 2025, the Australian new car market fell by 6.1% year-on-year. In the overall sluggish market environment, Chinese auto brands bucked the trend and grew, especially Great Wall Motors and Chery, which achieved year-on-year growth of +16.3% and +290.9% respectively, setting historical highs in Australia.
Among them, Chery entered the top 20 sales list for the first time, and Great Wall broke its own market share record. This indicates that Chinese brands are no longer "low-price substitutes" in the Australian market, but mainstream participants with sustained growth momentum.
This article will deeply analyze the breakthrough logic and future challenges of Chinese automobile companies in the Australian market from the perspectives of overall market trends and Chinese brand performance.
1.Australian car market review in April:
Overall decline, China bucks the trend and rises
In April 2025, the number of new car registrations in Australia was 91,316, down 6.1% year-on-year, and the cumulative sales from the beginning of the year to date were 387,273, down 3.6% from the same period last year. Private car purchases and commercial fleet purchases fell by 8.9% and 4.9% respectively, while rental fleets grew by 21.2%, the only strong demand. Government purchases fell sharply by 18.5%.
The sales volume changes of each power type are as follows:
In terms of vehicle structure
In January 2025, in the Australian automobile market, Toyota topped the list with 18,424 vehicles, followed by Mazda and Ford, while Great Wall and Nissan led the growth with year-on-year growth of 9.9% and 12.4% respectively.
In terms of vehicle sales
Great Wall and Chery achieve breakthrough
In Australia, a mature market dominated by pickup trucks and SUVs and long dominated by joint venture brands, the rise of Chinese brands is particularly eye-catching.
In April 2025, China's vehicle exports to Australia reached 15,619 units, an increase of 18.7% year-on-year, making it Australia's third largest source of automobiles, second only to Japan and Thailand.
● Great Wall Motors: set a new record, exceeding 4.2% market share
Great Wall Motors sold 3,874 vehicles in Australia in April , up 16.3% year-on-year , setting a record for its highest monthly market share in the Australian market (4.2%) .
Haval H6 and Haval H9 are still the main sales force, and Haval H6 has successfully entered the top 20 models, showing that it is gradually gaining a foothold in the mid-size SUV market.
Through a diversified product portfolio (SUV + Ute + new energy) , highly competitive pricing and an increasingly complete local sales network, Great Wall is gradually transforming from a "pioneer" to a "mainstream brand".
● Chery: explosive growth, entering the Top 20 model list for the first time
Chery Automobile's sales in April reached 2,287 units , a year-on-year increase of 290.9% , and its market share reached 2.5% , also a record high.
Its Tiggo 4 Pro entered the top 20 car models list in Australia for the first time. This achievement is of strategic significance, indicating that Chery not only has "volume" in the entry-level market, but has also begun to enter the "cognition" level of Australian consumers.
The rise of Chery also proves that its improvements in product adaptability (such as the development of right-hand drive models) , pricing strategy, and reliability improvement have begun to show results. Coupled with the rapid layout of the Australian distribution network, its brand power has begun to accelerate.
● BYD: Still leading in the new energy camp
BYD sold 3,207 vehicles in April , up 127.4% year-on-year . Although the PHEV tax incentives were cancelled in April, resulting in a month-on-month decline in sales, its brand awareness and technological leadership in the EV market remain competitive.
Seal U and Atto 3 constitute its two main vehicles, among which Seal U ranked 16th this month, highlighting its influence in the mid-to-high-end EV segment.
● MG retreated to the second tier and its market share declined
MG, which has long been in the top ten in Australia, sold 3,103 units in April, down 17.9% year-on-year.
This is the first time that MG has fallen out of the top ten since June 2024, indicating that it has faced challenges in the connection between new and old models and the weakening of price attractiveness. In contrast, Chery and BYD have quickly risen to the top with the momentum of new products and new energy.
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