Australia bought 103,325 new vehicles in October 2026, up 3.8 per cent on the same month last year, as sharper brand competition and a surge in battery electric demand rewrote the sales chart.

Those VFACTS figures cover brands that report through the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) system. Tesla and Polestar do not - they report deliveries separately to the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) - so the 103,325 total is not the entire new-car market, and it is not a complete list of every EV brand.

What FCAI does publish from all sources is the battery electric share: 23.1 per cent in October, almost three times the 7.3 per cent recorded a year earlier. That all-sources BEV figure includes Tesla and Polestar deliveries reported via the EVC, alongside battery EVs counted in VFACTS.

Petrol sales plunged 35.9 per cent year on year in October. Diesel fell 14.7 per cent.

Competition has buyers spoilt for choice

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said consumers were benefiting from stronger competition across brands, models and technologies.

"Australia's open and competitive market has put consumers in the driver's seat, with more choice across brands, technologies, features and price points," Mr Weber said.

He pointed to competition, ongoing Middle East instability, sustained higher fuel prices and generous Federal Government tax concessions as drivers of strong BEV demand through 2026, with little sign of it easing.

"Consumers are making rational choices and are attracted to options that reduce their costs. Despite continuing pressure on household budgets and higher borrowing costs in 2026, the October result shows there is extraordinary resilience in new vehicle demand," Mr Weber said.

"This increase in new vehicle demand, especially BEVs, must be supported by reliable and accessible charging infrastructure that keeps pace with demand."

Where the cars came from

China was the largest source of vehicles recorded through VFACTS in October, supplying 36.3 per cent. Japan followed on 23.3 per cent, Thailand 17.9 per cent and South Korea 9.2 per cent.

Top 10 brands - October 2026 (VFACTS)

Toyota stayed clear on top. BYD more than doubled its year-ago volume to lock in second, and five Chinese brands sat inside the top 10.

1. Toyota - 20,649 (20.0% share)
2. BYD - 10,025 (9.7%)
3. Ford - 7,310 (7.1%)
4. Kia - 5,801 (5.6%)
5. Mazda - 5,730 (5.5%)
6. MG - 4,676 (4.5%)
7. Hyundai - 4,571 (4.4%)
8. GWM - 4,417 (4.3%)
9. Geely - 4,365 (4.2%)
10. Chery - 4,317 (4.2%)

Geely's jump is the standout among the established pack: 4,365 sales versus 704 in October 2025. BYD climbed from 3,959 a year earlier. Mazda, Hyundai, Kia and Ford all lost share year on year.

Top 10 models - October 2026 (VFACTS)

Utes and SUVs still rule the volume game, but BYD now has three models inside the top 10 and Geely's EX5 is on a tear.

1. Toyota HiLux - 5,954 (up 34.0%)
2. Ford Ranger - 4,841 (up 10.0%)
3. Toyota RAV4 - 4,718 (up 7.2%)
4. BYD Sealion 7 - 2,524 (up 88.2%)
5. Toyota Prado - 2,397 (up 64.4%)
6. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro - 2,178 (up 10.3%)
7. BYD Atto 2 - 1,943 (new to the chart)
8. BYD Shark 6 - 1,843 (up 72.2%)
9. Geely EX5 - 1,789 (up 421.6%)
10. Ford Everest - 1,741 (down 28.5%)

HiLux and Ranger totals include 4x2 and 4x4. Chery's Tiggo 4 Pro figure includes the Tiggo 4 and Tiggo 4 Hybrid. Everest was the only top-10 model to fall.

Segments, states and the year so far

SUVs did the heavy lifting again in October with 64,163 sales, ahead of light commercials on 21,469, passenger cars on 14,478 and heavy commercials on 3,215.

Every state and territory rose except South Australia, which slipped 0.5 per cent to 6,591. New South Wales remained the biggest market on 30,580, then Victoria 28,336 and Queensland 21,762. The ACT posted the biggest percentage gain, up 16.8 per cent to 1,577.

VFACTS year-to-date sales for January to October 2026 sit at 1,017,637. Toyota still leads the YTD brand table on 173,593, with BYD second on 86,639 - more than double its 41,882 at the same point in 2025 - then Ford, Kia, Mazda, Hyundai, GWM, Chery, MG and Mitsubishi.

Adding Tesla and Polestar for a broader view

Tesla and Polestar are outside VFACTS. The EVC's October 2026 report put Tesla at 4,050 deliveries (up 342 per cent) and Polestar at 118. Add those 4,168 deliveries to the VFACTS month total and the broader combined tally is about 107,493 vehicles - still not a perfect whole-market census, but a cleaner way to see how the VFACTS total sits beside the two brands that report only to the EVC.

The all-sources 23.1 per cent BEV share already folds Tesla and Polestar into the electric mix FCAI describes. It should not be read as a VFACTS-only EV percentage, and the VFACTS brand and model tables should not be treated as a ranking of every EV sold in Australia.

Sources: FCAI VFACTS, October 2026; Electric Vehicle Council Vehicle Sales Report, October 2026 (Tesla and Polestar only).