BYD to push past Ford, Kia and Hyundai to be the number 2 brand in Australia, as 2026 BYD Sealion 7 and other electric car sales surge | Opinion

Chinese carmaker BYD is making history as it rockets its way up the Australian sales charts that could see it finish in second place by the end of the year.

Year-to-date BYD has sold 25,243 vehicles in Australia. Perennial top five seller Hyundai has recorded 25,103 so far, while Ford, the second-best selling brand in Australia last year, has managed 25,920.

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The brands that still stand in BYD’s way are Kia with (27,080 cars sold so far in 2026), Mazda (27,526) and of course Toyota (59,675).

Toyota is like the final big boss of the Aussie car game and BYD is one hundred per cent not going to beat it this year or possibly ever. It would be fun to entertain the idea that BYD could beat Toyota at some point in the future, but the only way that could happen is if Toyota tripped so badly in the sales race it couldn’t get back up again.

We have seen huge brands rise and fall. Holden was once Australia’s top selling brand and today… well, it doesn’t exist.

So Toyota’s is a lock for top spot this year, and the reality of BYD taking the silver medal is a very real possibility.

That would send shock waves through the industry and mark the end of time for established brands such as Ford, which relies almost entirely on one model — the Ranger ute — to keep it on top.

Ford would be anxious and brands such as Mazda, Kia and Hyundai would be feeling the heat, too.   

Monthly sales for BYD show just how quickly the brand is striding ahead. In April BYD sold 7702 cars in Australia. Kia sold 6450, Hyundai 6002, Ford 5748 and Mazda 5636.

Toyota, by the way, sold 15,185 cars in April.

Are we living in unusual times? Interesting times, but not unusual. It seems that every 10 to 15 years a new big force arrives. Kia and Hyundai were the previous big force. Now it’s the Chinese brands' turn, and they're currently elbowing each other out the way to get to the front while the old guard scratches its head wondering what just happened. 

The catalyst for change has been the switch to electric cars and with Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Nissan and Mitsubishi hardly having an EV between them, Chinese brands have swooped in to offer what people want.

BYD, Chery, MG, GWM, Geely and Zeekr are offering outstanding and affordable electric cars and hybrids from hatches and sedans to SUVs and utes.

MG and GWM were first on the scene, and both have become a part of Australia’s automotive landscape.

BYD has won over Aussies even quicker.

Four years ago almost nobody in Australia had heard of BYD, or Build Your Dreams as it was known then. As motoring journalists we were aware of the new brand from China, but hardly saw it as an immediate threat to the likes of MG, which had already won over Aussies with models such as the MG ZS. 

Nope, in 2022 BYD appeared to be just another Chinese brand hoping to ride the wave of interest in EVs that had taken off in Australia.

The popularity of BYD models such as the Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute, Atto 3 small electric SUV and Sealion 7 electric SUV have been central to the brand’s success. Crucial to the brand’s continued rise is bolstering its line-up with a multitude of other models, such as the Atto 1 electric hatchback, Atto 2 electric small SUV, Sealion 5 compact plug-in hybrid SUV, Sealion 6 mid-size plug-in hybrid SUV and Sealion 8 seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV.

BYD could just make it to second spot this year, but how long it can stay there is another story. Hyundai or Kia could make a comeback, but what is looking even more likely is a challenge from a fellow Chinese brand such as Chery. 

Chery only has five models but sold 4322 cars in April, and this year it will launch its diesel hybrid ute to rival the BYD Shark 6 and that could add an extra 1000 sales a month. Then again the ute market appears to be headed into troubled waters - again, another story for another day.

For now it’s BYD time in the sun and while that might not mean being number one, number two would do.