The type of car preparing to dominate Australian roads: We can't get enough of the Toyota RAV4, BYD Sealion 6 and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV as sales of petrol and diesel cars such as the Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max slide
By Samuel Irvine · 06 Feb 2025
Hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles continue to gain serious momentum in Australia as the demise of petrol and diesel appears to be in full swing.The latest data from the Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries shows total hybrid sales increased from 9791 sales last January to 14,836 last month, an increase of 51.5 per cent. Sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles, meanwhile, increased by 88.5 per cent from 1012 to 1908 sales.Australia's best-selling car for 2024, the hybrid-only Toyota RAV4, comprised the bulk of the additional hybrid sales with a 129.6 per cent increase in demand that translated to a staggering 5076 sales, up from 2211 this time last year.The Toyota Yaris Cross and Corolla Cross, two small SUVs also offered in hybrid-only guise, saw their year-on-year sales climb 14.4 per cent and 19.0 per cent, respectively, rounding out January with 845 and 922 sales. Bolstering the plug-in hybrid segment was the BYD Sealion 6, which registered 433 sales and claimed the title of the brand's best-selling car, despite being impacted by ongoing supply issues linked to Australia's ports.Sales of the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Sealion 6's main rival, remained steady at 2090, a 0.6 per cent increase on last year. There is no breakdown of exactly how many sold were PHEV variants, although Mitsubishi has previously claimed they account for about 20 per cent of the predominantly petrol model's total sales, which translates to about 418 units.National diesel sales, meanwhile, fell by 12.3 per cent in January 2025 compared to the previous year, or from 28,923 sales to 25,372.Petrol sales fell in even greater numbers from 42,245 sales last January compared to 38,852 last month, equivalent to an 8.0 per cent decrease year-on-year.The diesel models leading that decline were Australia’s three most popular utes in the Ford Ranger, which fell 10.3 per cent, the Toyota HiLux, which fell 19.3 per cent, and the Isuzu D-Max, which fell 17.9 per cent.Most of that decline was felt among private buyers opposed to businesses and fleets with a decrease in sales by 18.3 per cent, equivalent to 1224 less vehicles purchase in January 2025 compared to last month.No specific petrol models appeared solely responsible for the decline given a growing number of traditionally petrol-only vehicles are now being offered with the choice of hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. National sales also dipped by 3.3 per cent off the back of weak demand in the second half of 2024.