VFACTS July 2025: HiLux on top as diesel, EV sales rise in record month

Four-wheel drive utes and electric vehicles (EVs) were among the big winners in July 2025, despite a reduction in sales for Toyota and Tesla.

According to VFACTS figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) today, a total of 104,244 new vehicles were delivered in July 2025, up 2.0 per cent on July 2024.

That made last month the best July on record in Australia, beating the previous record set last year with 102,181 deliveries.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

Deliveries of diesel-powered vehicles were up 8.0 per cent last month to 31,611, while EVs were up 7.1 per cent to 7219.

In contrast, sales of petrol-powered vehicles dropped 4.8 per cent, though this was still the most popular propulsion type with 39,991 deliveries. Hybrids were down slightly (1.6 per cent) to 17,757.

CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal.

The popularity of PHEVs continues to grow, with 4031 reaching customers in July 2025, up 81.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY), though unlike last month the popular BYD Shark 6 didn’t make the top 10 – or even the top 20.

Overall, deliveries to private buyers were up by 6.1 per cent YoY to 52,952, while business vehicle registrations were up a more modest 1.6 per cent to 37,636.

A significant increase in deliveries to rental companies (6095, up 20.8 per cent) was offset somewhat by a 23.2 per cent drop in government vehicle sales (to 2779).

Overall deliveries also increased across the four most populous states in Australia.

Brands

Toyota was still the market leader by a country mile, even with a slight (4.3 per cent) drop compared with July 2024.

Second-placed Mazda had a larger drop of 12.1 per cent, with the popular CX-30 essentially flat and everything else apart from the MX-5 (and models not available last July) down YoY.

Kia only just started deliveries of its Tasman ute – with 683 rolling out in July – but it was just 50 deliveries short of Mazda. Once the Tasman fully comes on stream, the Korean brand poses a significant threat to Mazda and Ford which usually jockey for second spot.

Ford was down 6.1 per cent to 7279 deliveries. It delivered no F-150s due to a stop-sale, while its 4×2 Ranger was down 23.3 per cent (and consequently beaten by the Mazda BT-50 4×2) and its 4×4 Ranger was down 19.8 per cent.

However, the Blue Oval managed to offload a few more examples of the defunct Escape than it did last year, with 22 reaching customers. Ford’s third best-selling vehicle, however, was the Mustang at 429 deliveries, far and away Australia’s most popular sports car.

Hyundai sat in fifth place with 6687 deliveries, up 11.1 per cent. Sales drops for the popular Palisade and Santa Fe were offset by strong Kona and Tucson sales.

The top 10 was rounded out by Mitsubishi, GWM, BYD, Isuzu Ute and Subaru.

Chery sat just outside the top 10 with 3149 deliveries, managing to beat fellow Chinese brand MG as well as Nissan thanks to a 267.4 per cent YoY increase in deliveries.

This was a record result for the Chinese brand, and fuelled by strong sales of the Tiggo 4 which was Australia’s best-selling small SUV.

MG has more vehicles in its lineup than it did in July 2024, but its sales have gone backwards – largely attributable to the loss of the old-generation, cheaper MG 3 and ZS, but also impacted by a huge 47.6 per cent drop in MG 4 sales.

Tesla had a lousy month, down 64.6 per cent year over year – the biggest decline of any brand bar Lotus and Aston Martin.

The EV brand sat in 22nd position with just 917 deliveries. Its best seller, the Model Y, notched up only 555 deliveries – just three more than the Lexus NX, and well behind the BYD Sealion 7 (1427).

Besides Chery, the brands that saw the biggest YoY increases were BYD (up 158 per cent to 4607 deliveries) and Polestar (up 123.3 per cent).

Of the brands that have arrived in Australia over the past 12 months, GMC had among the most impressive finishes. It delivered 48 examples of its $174,990 plus-on roads Yukon Denali, managing to outsell affordable Chinese brands like Leapmotor (43) and Deepal (40).

Leapmotor and Deepal were also soundly beaten by other new Chinese entrants Omoda Jaecoo (434) and Geely (490). Both of these brands managed to beat established brands like Renault and Skoda.

Models

The Toyota HiLux beat the rival Ford Ranger, also taking out the top spot overall for July, but Ford’s Everest beat the rival Toyota Prado.

Toyota had the last laugh though, as it always does, by having the greatest sales volume of any brand by a country mile. Its RAV4 was also the second best-selling vehicle on the market and the best-selling SUV.

The top 10 consisted of four Toyotas, two Fords, two Hyundais, one Isuzu and one Chery.

Chinese car sales may be surging, but Chery, GWM, MG and BYD only managed to have one model each in the top 20. That’s in contrast with more established brands like Mitsubishi, Isuzu Ute and Hyundai which had two each.

Segments

Micro cars: Kia Picanto (607), Fiat 500 (30)
Light cars under $30,000: MG 3 (484), Suzuki Swift (326), Toyota Yaris (292)
Light cars over $30,000: Mini Cooper (181), Hyundai i20 (119), Volkswagen Polo (87)
Small cars under $45,000: Toyota Corolla (1963), Hyundai i30 (893), Mazda 3 (844)
Small cars over $45,000: Audi A3 (326), Volkswagen Golf (296), Mercedes-Benz A-Class (240)
Medium cars under $60,000: Toyota Camry (1156), BYD Seal (273), Skoda Octavia (68)
Medium cars over $60,000: Tesla Model 3 (362), BMW 3 Series (155), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (105)
Large cars under $70,000: Skoda Superb (17)
Large cars over $70,000: Mercedes-Benz E-Class (38), BMW 5 Series (38), MG IM5 (18)
Upper large cars: Mercedes-Benz S-Class (9), Porsche Panamera (8), BMW 7 Series (6)
People movers under $70,000: Kia Carnival (1240), Hyundai Staria (100), Ford Tourneo (54)
People movers over $70,000: Volkswagen ID. Buzz (53), Volkswagen Multivan (21), Mercedes-Benz V-Class (20)
Sports cars under $90,000: Ford Mustang (429), Toyota GR86 (94), Mazda MX-5 (83)
Sports cars over $90,000: Mercedes-Benz CLE (101), BMW 2 Series two-door (79), BMW 4 Series two-door range (66)
Sports cars over $200,000: Porsche 911 (77), Mercedes-AMG GT two-door (19), Ferrari two-door range (17)

Light SUVs: Mazda CX-3 (1293), Toyota Yaris Cross (958), Hyundai Venue (655)
Small SUVs under $45,000: Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (2065), Hyundai Kona (1903), GWM Haval Jolion (1687)
Small SUVs over $45,000: BMW X1 (554), Toyota C-HR (506), Volkswagen T-Roc (458)
Medium SUVs under $60,000: Toyota RAV4 (4415), Hyundai Tucson (1914), Mitsubishi Outlander (1869)
Medium SUVs over $60,000: Tesla Model Y (555), Lexus NX (552), BMW X3 (484)
Large SUVs under $80,000: Ford Everest (2425), Toyota Prado (2339), Isuzu MU-X (1635)
Large SUVs over $80,000: Land Rover Defender (429), BMW X5 (254), Mercedes-Benz GLE wagon (203)
Upper large SUVs under $120,000: Toyota LandCruiser (1406), Nissan Patrol (508), Kia EV9 (25)
Upper large SUVs over $120,000: Lexus GX (106), BMW X7 (90), Mercedes-Benz GLS (57)

Small vans: Volkswagen Caddy (78), Peugeot Partner (37), Renault Kangoo (9)
Medium vans: Toyota HiAce (741), Hyundai Staria Load (246), Ford Transit Custom (242)
4×2 utes: Toyota HiLux (676), Isuzu D-Max (533), Mazda BT-50 (244)
4×4 utes: Toyota HiLux (4000), Ford Ranger (3696), Isuzu D-Max (1818)
Large pickups: Ram 1500 (281), Chevrolet Silverado HD (148), Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (144)