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Has the number of Chinese-made cars peaked in Australia? Weak sales from Tesla, MG and LDV sees Chinese deliveries dip as Japan, Thailand strengthen their leads with the Toyota HiLux, RAV4 and Ford Ranger | Analysis

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Samuel Irvine
Cadet Journalist
17 Dec 2024
3 min read

If there has been a single story that has come out of the automotive world over the past five years, it has been the rise of China.

The manufacturing powerhouse’s swift climb up the global sales charts has been nothing short of remarkable, sending legacy car brands into crisis mode and causing a media frenzy in the process.

So, would you believe that sales of Chinese-made cars in Australia, the third most common country of origin for local vehicles, are actually down?

Well, if you look at the combined data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council, that is exactly the case.

As of the end of November this year, vehicle sales from China fell two per cent compared to this time last year, from 178,432 deliveries to 174,784.

Even more surprisingly, vehicle sales from Germany, Italy and France were up slightly, despite serious concerns over the futures of some European brands.

2024 MG ZS
2024 MG ZS

Imports flatlining from China can largely be attested to Tesla’s lacklustre year in 2024, in which it delivered 9154 less vehicles from its Shanghai Gigafactory to Australia compared to November the previous year.

Sales from Australia’s seventh-best-selling car brand, MG, are also down considerably; 15 per cent to be exact, from 54,512 deliveries to 46,374 this year to date.

LDV is another loser for 2024, with sales down 24.1 per cent from 19,675 sales this time last year to 14,935.

2024 Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD (Image: Glen Sullivan)
2024 Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Despite big gains from Chery and BYD, with sales up 107.7 per cent and 68.2 per cent, respectively, China hasn’t been able to turn the tide, which suggests imports may finally be correcting after five years of huge sales.

However, there are plenty more Chinese brands arriving in 2025, along with steady product pipelines from BYD, MG and LDV, as well as western brands that build EVs in China like Kia and Tesla, which could see sales bounce back.

Western automakers are still showing plenty of fight, though, with Japan increasing its sales hegemony in Australia by 9.8 per cent. This is thanks to Japanese makers finally clearing the supply crunch that held them back over the past few years, which opened the door to new Chinese brands with a free-flowing supply of new vehicles to grow sales.

2023 Ford Ranger Sport
2023 Ford Ranger Sport

It comes off the back of Toyota’s strong year, led by its ever-popular RAV4 and HiLux models, as well as strong sales from Mitsubishi and Nissan.

An honourable mention also goes to Thailand, who remains the key beneficiary of Australia’s ute-loving culture as our second most popular country of origin for cars. 

Sales are up 5.0 per cent from Thailand, which builds our most popular vehicle, the Ford Ranger – and practically every other ute.

2024 Tesla Model Y Performance (Image: Tom White)
2024 Tesla Model Y Performance (Image: Tom White)
Samuel Irvine
Cadet Journalist
Since visiting car shows at Melbourne Exhibition Centre with his Dad and older brother as a little boy, Samuel knew that his love of cars would be unwavering. But it wasn’t until embarking on a journalism masters degree two years ago that he saw cars as a legitimate career path. Now, Samuel is CarsGuide’s first Cadet Journalist. He comes to CarsGuide with an eagerness to report on a rapidly advancing automotive industry, and a passion to communicate the stories car buyers need to know most.
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