VFACTS September 2026: EVs beat petrol, diesel models once again in new-vehicle sales

Electric vehicle (EV) sales beat those of petrol and diesel vehicles in Australia for the second month in a row in September 2026, as fuel prices remain high across the nation.

A total of 108,778 new vehicles were delivered in Australia in September 2026 according to readily accessible Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) data, plus the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ VFACTS report obtained by CarExpert.

This represents a 1.8 per cent increase on September 2025. EV sales, however, were up by a whopping 117.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY), while petrol-powered vehicle sales declined by 36.2 per cent and diesel vehicles were down 18.4 per cent.

EVs beat petrol-powered vehicles by just 269 sales, giving them a 24.2 per cent share of the market.

Year-to-date, petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles hold a comfortable lead in sales over EVs, however, with market share of 28.2 and 24.3 per cent respectively against 18.9 per cent for EVs.

Among powertrain types, only plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) enjoyed greater sales growth in September, rising 122.7 per cent YoY to 10,072 units. Hybrid sales rose 20.7 per cent to 17,843 units.

Chinese-made vehicles continue to be Australia’s favourite, with a growing number of non-Chinese brands – including Mazda – also introducing vehicles built in that country.

Brands

Toyota remains atop the sales charts, as it has for decades, while BYD once again finished in second place.

Not only was BYD ahead of third-place Ford for the month, but it holds a comfortable lead in year-to-date sales, which should see it finish in second place for the first time in a calendar year – not bad for a brand that was only properly launched here around four years ago.

Fourth-placed Kia delivered 828 more vehicles than sister brand Hyundai, which finished in eighth position and posted a slightly larger YoY decline.

Kia also pushed past Mazda, usually a podium finisher but relegated to fifth position in September. However, the brand only recorded a handful of deliveries (12 in total) for its new CX-6e mid-size electric SUV, which it expects to become one of Australia’s best-selling EVs.

The new Model Y L is fuelling a resurgence in Tesla sales and the American brand finished in sixth position last month, ahead of GWM, Hyundai, MG and Geely.

Among the top 10 brands, only Tesla and the Chinese brands posted YoY increases in sales. That included MG and Geely, which managed to keep Chery just out of the top 10, though Chery’s sister brand Omoda Jaecoo is edging ever closer to it too. It finished in 14th position in September.

Cadillac, Mahindra and Smart still don’t publish their sales data in either the EVC or FCAI monthly reports.

Models

While EVs were the best-selling vehicles overall, it wasn’t an EV that topped the sales charts.

The Ford Ranger ute sat on top, with the Toyota RAV4 medium SUV in second place and the Tesla Model Y electric SUV just nudging the Toyota HiLux ute for a spot on the podium. The mid-size SUV had taken the top spot in August, but didn’t repeat this feat last month.

Not a single passenger car finished in the top 20, with 16 SUVs and four utes taking these spots. Of these, four are exclusively offered with electric power.

The top 20 also consisted of nine Chinese-built vehicles, with eight of these coming from Chinese brands.

Sales by category

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Top segments by market share

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by region

Excludes Tesla and Polestar sales.

Sales by buyer type

Excludes Tesla, Polestar and heavy commercial sales.

Sales by fuel or propulsion type

Excludes heavy commercial sales.

Sales by country of origin

Includes Tesla and Polestar sales.

You can access our coverage of previous months below:

• August 2026
• July 2026
• June 2026
• May 2026
• April 2026
• March 2026
• February 2026
• January 2026