In February 2026, 22,362 vehicles sourced from China were sold in Australia, surpassing Japan (21,671), Thailand (19,493) and South Korea (11,913). Japan had been Australia’s leading source of vehicles since 1998.
Australia’s new vehicle market recorded 90,712 sales in February, a decrease of 4,281 vehicles or 4.5 per cent compared with February last year.
“After 28 years, Japan has been overtaken by China as the largest source of vehicles for the Australian market in a single month,” Weber said.
Since 2020, 10 new brands have entered the Australian market. Six of these launched in the past two years, while nine of the 10 new entrants are made in China.
“The Australian market is one of the most open and competitive in the world. New brands can enter, establish dealer networks and compete on price, technology and design. Consumers are the beneficiaries of that competition,” Weber said.
Battery electric vehicles accounted for 11.8 per cent of total sales from all sources in February, representing a record high monthly share.
Toyota was the market leader in February with sales of 13,606 during February, followed by Mazda (7,042), Ford (6,907), Kia (6,710) and Hyundai (6,266). The top models were the Ford Ranger (4,325) Toyota?HiLux (3,625), Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (2,315) Mazda?CX-5 (2,099) and Isuzu Ute D-Max (2,092).
Sales in the Australian Capital Territory fell 18.7 per cent to 1,187; New South Wales declined 7.6 per cent to 27,524; the Northern Territory decreased 15.8 per cent to 727; Queensland fell 2.8 per cent to 19,644; South Australia declined 8.7 per cent to 5,673; Tasmania fell 6.4 per cent to 1,384; Victoria remained steady at 24,732; and Western Australia declined 3.9 per cent to 9,841.