Australians bought 94,131 new vehicles in February 2026, a 7.2 per cent increase over January but 2.7 per cent down on February 2025.

The relatively flat 2026 total (181,884 year-to-date vs 184,335 in 2025) disguises some drastic movements in the market as a whole, with the biggest change being China overtaking Japan as the number one source of new vehicles, the first time this has occurred.

Clouding the 2026 data is RAV4 sales being down 73.8 per cent year-to-date as stock levels dwindle ahead of the arrival of the new-generation model. This is a key contributor to China overtaking Japan as the leading vehicle source and hybrid sales falling by 9.6 per cent year-on-year.

Pure-electric sales soared by 95.9 per cent to 11.8 per cent of the market, primarily thanks to a shipment of Tesla Model Ys arriving that made it the country’s third-most popular vehicle in February.  

Plug-in hybrids continued to gain popularity with a 20.2 per cent increase in sales, while petrol sales posted a sharp 17.7 per cent decline.

Otherwise, the top 10 was the familiar mix of dual-cab utes (Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton), mid-size SUVs (Tesla Model Y, Mazda CX-5 and Mitsubishi Outlander) and small SUVs (Chery Tiggo 4, Hyundai Kona and GWM Haval Jolion).

Top 10 Vehicle Sales February 2026

Ford Ranger 4325

Toyota HiLux 3625

Tesla Model Y 2791

Chery Tiggo 4 2315

Mazda CX-5 2099

Isuzu D-Max 2092

Mitsubishi Outlander 2070

Hyundai Kona 2023

Mitsubishi Triton 2017

GWM Haval Jolion 1804

Despite RAV4 being in runout and Prado struggling (-52.2 per cent YTD), Toyota maintains its market dominance, thanks in part to strong results from the Camry (+108.9 per cent YTD) and LandCruiser (+146 per cent YTD).

Sustained demand for the CX-5 helped Mazda to second place while the Ranger and Everest continue to do the heavy lifting for Ford.  

The Hyundai-Kia sibling rivalry will continue all year, but huge sales increases firmly embed BYD, GWM and Chery in the top 10. An excellent month for the Isuzu MU-X vaulted it into the top 10 at the expense of MG.

Top 10 Manufacturer Sales February 2026

Toyota 13,606

Mazda 7042

Ford 6907

Kia 6710

Hyundai 6266

BYD 5323

Mitsubishi 4755

GWM 4689

Chery 3938

Isuzu 3384

Unsurprisingly, with only two months of data the year-to-date top 10 looks very similar to that of February, though the Chery Tiggo 4 sitting in third is a remarkable result for a car that didn’t even crack the top 10 in 2025.

Buyers are still snapping up the Mazda CX-5 in the current generation’s dying days and the Mitsubishi Outlander and Triton are proving popular, the latter sitting in ninth thanks to a 39.3 per cent increase in popularity compared to the first two months of 2025.

Top 10 vehicles 2026 YTD

Ford Ranger 7728

Toyota HiLux 6425

Chery Tiggo 4 Pro 4549

Mazda CX-5 4388

Mitsubishi Outlander 4045

Isuzu D-Max 3890

Hyundai Kona 3862

Ford Everest 3691

Mitsubishi Triton 3682

GWM Haval Jolion 3593

2026 Winners and Losers

BYD’s model onslaught continues to take it from strength to strength, with none of its models troubling the top sellers list but all proving reasonably popular contributing to its 161 per cent growth year-on-year.  

Fellow Chinese maker Chery has also nearly doubled its sales so far this year (+99.2 per cent) thanks to the success of the Tiggo 4 small SUV, though the Tiggo 7 has also quickly become a major player in the medium SUV segment.

A huge month for the Model Y puts Tesla up 62 per cent YoY, though this is likely to fluctuate wildly, while GWM is also enjoying a 28 per cent sales surge.

But if it’s celebrations for the Chinese manufacturers, the picture is decidedly less rosy for legacy Japanese car makers.

Nissan is being hit the hardest with sales down 44.7 per cent so far in 2026, but with the switchover from MY25 to MY26 for Qashqai and X-Trail and the new-generation Navara imminent, there is light on the horizon.

It’s a similar story at Suzuki with sales down 32.5 per cent, though this is in part due to the stop-sale on its new Fronx in order to investigate its crash performance, while the new-generation Vitara launches within weeks.

Toyota might be the market leader, but the RAV4-sized hole in its lineup has led to a 25.1 per cent drop in sales year-on-year, but expect that to quickly right itself once the new model arrives.

Finally, Mitsubishi is struggling for overall volume thanks to the discontinuation of the Eclipse Cross and the new Euro-sourced ASX selling at a tenth the volume of its much cheaper predecessor.  

Top 10 Manufacturer Sales 2026 YTD

Toyota 27,916

Mazda 14,734

Kia 13,310

Ford 13,023

Hyundai 12,122

BYD 10,324

GWM 9198

Mitsubishi 9102

Chery 7718

MG 6337

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