Big name car brands Mercedes, Kia and Honda are beating the onslaught from BYD, Chery and others to post sales increases

2026 has been a massive year of change for Australia’s new car market. The tide has turned against diesel, and global affairs have pushed more buyers than ever to hybrid and electric cars and into the arms of new brands with more competitive offerings.

This has been disastrous for old favourites. In a market where the forever steadfast and market-leading Toyota has taken a nearly 25 per cent hit to its sales figures, something is definitely changing in the mindsets of buyers.

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There are still a handful of big name brands continuing to post gains. It’s a diverse group ranging from Mercedes-Benz to Hyundai.

Let’s take a look

Honda

After years of nosediving down the Aussie new car sales charts, thanks to what the brand would probably describe as a tactical retreat to a more limited footprint and ‘agency’ sales model, Honda seems to have stabilised.

The Japanese brand has posted a 5.1 per cent gain year-on-year accounting for a mere 52 units.

It’s not a great story looking at the by-the-model numbers, with every car in the brands range posting declines apart from its best-selling CR-V posting a 4.4 per cent gain year-on-year, the ZR-V is up a very modest 0.8 per cent year-on-year and the brand-new Prelude sports car posted an additional 142 units.

The Accord sedan has shrunk to a handful of units off of an already-low-base, while the Civic also posted a near 30 per cent decline.

Hyundai

Hyundai has had a pretty decent year, even though its initial trailblazing range of EVs have had it tough in the face of new rivals.

Up 5.1 per cent for the year, Hyundai’s gains come from its ageing Tucson mid-sizer and high-performing Kona small SUV, which is available with the choice of petrol, hybrid and pure electric power.

It also posted solid gains from the addition of the Chinese-built Elexio to its range.

The fully electric Hyundai Inster city car, which initially had a tepid reception, has surged back thanks to price-cuts and a renewed interest in electric cars off the back of the fuel crisis. The brand’s once-headline-grabbing Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, with their advanced E-GMP 800-volt platforms, continue to lose their shine.

The loss of the i30 has also put a dent in the brands range, while the Venue also continues to tumble down the charts as it struggles to compete with keen new Chinese rivals such as the Chery Tiggo 4.

Kia

Kia has proven to be a success story in 2026, with its well-received range of electric cars and Tasman ute forming a significant part of the brand’s additional volume.

A gain of just 2.7 per cent isn't all good news. The Sportage has not quite enjoyed the same sales growth as its Hyundai Tucson relation, down over a thousand units year on year.

The loss of the Cerato has been more than compensated for by the arrival of the K4, which has posted a massive gain of 1958 units year-on-year. The once-heavy-hitting Sorento has lost nearly half its volume.

The EV3, EV4, and EV5 have all done well, but the EV6 and EV9, which are its most expensive EVs, have posted steep declines.

The controversial Tasman ute is barely doing half the volume Kia had predicted pre-launch, it is still a significant volume-add for the brand, with more than 2000 units sold so far this year.

Mercedes-Benz

The brand is up 3.4 per cent for the year, accounting for an additional 295 units. It is some of the older models from the brand’s line-up kicking goals.

The A-Class and related GLA SUV posted solid gains alongside the electric EQA and EQB, while the GLC mid-size and GLE large SUVs have also done well.

It’s not good news for the rest of the brand’s range. Its larger electric vehicles have failed to resonate with buyers. The EQE SUV was the hardest hit so far, down 383 units for the year, and the EQE, EQS and EQS SUV ranges all posted significant declines.

Volvo

Volvo’s story of steady-but-surely continues, posting a modest 2.4 per cent gain in 2026.

The ever-popular XC40 continues to kick goals for the Swedish brand, with the model up 16.6 per cent year-on-year despite its age. The soon-to-be replaced XC60 also posted a small 1.8 per cent gain.

The EX90, the brand’s new large fully electric SUV, is up 46.2 per cent off a very low base. The new SUV is still outsold at a ratio of three-to-one by its XC90 internal-combustion engined predecessor.

The EX30 small SUV, which is a platform-share with the Zeekr X, posted modest gains, up 6.3 per cent.