VFACTS August 2026: battery electric becomes the market's biggest fuel type
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108,760 new vehicles were delivered across Australia, in August up 4.9 per cent on the same month last year. The growth came almost entirely from electrified models, which now make up more than half of every new vehicle handed over. Tesla’s Model Y topped the model chart outright, Geely broke into the top 10 brands and private buyers carried the market while business and government fleets eased back.Â
In what was a solid month of volume growth, the positive August sales result traces back to one place, BEVs. The segment added enough new deliveries to lift the whole market, with BEVs alone up 170.7 per cent year on year to 27,078. Â
As a result, the fuel mix now looks genuinely different to twelve months ago. Battery electric held 9.6 per cent of the market in August 2025. This August it reached 24.9 per cent, enough to lead every other fuel type. Plug-in hybrids more than doubled their share to 9.7 per cent, and conventional hybrids held steady at 17.2 per cent. Add those three together and 51.8 per cent of vehicles delivered in August carry some form of electric drive.Â
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber described the month as evidence of a structural shift. He pointed to sustained BEV volume and changing brand preferences as proof of how quickly consumer choice and competition are reshaping the new-vehicle market.Â
Buyer type tells the other half of the August story. Deliveries to personal buyers climbed 7.7 per cent to 52,916 while business dropped 5.8 per cent to 36,426 and government fell 18.9 per cent. For franchise dealers that means retail floor traffic is doing the heavy lifting right now, and the fleet channel is not where the month’s growth sits.Â
Year to date the market has recovered to 848,920 deliveries, 2.0 per cent ahead of 2025. Petrol still leads the year at 28.7 per cent with diesel on 24.4 per cent and battery electric on 18.2 per cent, so August’s BEV result reflects momentum building through the year rather than a settled position.Â
As per usual, Toyota held strong in first place on the brand table with 19,712 deliveries and 18.1 per cent share. BYD stayed second on 8,231, and Tesla moved into third on 7,685 after a 162.6 per cent lift.Â
The most notable movement sits further down the table. Ford dropped down to eigth off the back of a weaker month of sales for its Ranger and Everest, while Geely delivered 4,504 vehicles in August against 401 a year ago, taking tenth position and pushing Chery to eleventh. Zeekr added 2,120 and Omoda Jaecoo 2,203, both outside the top 10 but well clear of where they sat last August. Newer arrivals including GAC (1,066), Xpeng (511) and Denza (261) also recorded their strongest months so far.Â
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Top 10 Brands August 2026
| Rank | Brand | Aug 2026 | Share | vs Aug 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toyota | 19,712 | 18.1% | -5.2% |
| 2 | BYD | 8,231 | 7.6% | +68.8% |
| 3 | Tesla* | 7,685 | 7.1% | +162.6% |
| 4 | Kia | 6,500 | 6.0% | -12.2% |
| 5 | Mazda | 6,203 | 5.7% | -9.0% |
| 6 | Hyundai | 5,355 | 4.9% | -15.3% |
| 7 | GWM | 4,870 | 4.5% | +8.5% |
| 8 | Ford | 4,816 | 4.4% | -39.8% |
| 9 | MG | 4,767 | 4.4% | +21.4% |
| 10 | Geely | 4,504 | 4.1% | +1,023.2% |
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On the model side, the Tesla Model Y took the outright honours with 6,414 deliveries, ahead of the Toyota RAV4 on 5,470 and the HiLux on 4,833. The Model Y now sits third year to date on 31,454, within striking distance of the Ford Ranger on 32,796 and the HiLux on 32,161.Â
Five of the top 10 models came from Chinese manufacturers, a point the FCAI called out in its August release. The Zeekr 7X entered the top 10 at tenth with 1,748 deliveries, and the Geely EX5 lifted 385.5 per cent year on year to 1,947.Â
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Top 10 Models August 2026
| Rank | Model | Aug 2026 | vs Aug 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tesla Model Y* | 6,414 | +176.0% |
| 2 | Toyota RAV4 | 5,470 | +32.9% |
| 3 | Toyota HiLux | 4,833 | +0.2% |
| 4 | Toyota Prado | 2,475 | +21.7% |
| 5 | Ford Ranger | 2,440 | -50.6% |
| 6 | BYD Sealion 7 | 2,213 | +56.6% |
| 7 | Chery Tiggo 4 Pro | 2,012 | +13.0% |
| 8 | Geely EX5 | 1,947 | +385.5% |
| 9 | GWM Haval Jolion | 1,891 | +21.1% |
| 10 | Zeekr 7X | 1,748 | new |
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Medium SUVs remain the largest segment at 30,850 VFACTS deliveries, up 32.5 per cent, and that figure sits before the Model Y is counted. Small SUVs held flat at 17,820.Â
Light passenger cars produced the sharpest percentage move, more than doubling to 3,393 from 1,653 a year ago. Affordable small electric models are a large part of that shift, and the segment is worth watching for dealers with entry-level buyers walking the floor.Â
The ute picture split in two directions. Mainstream 4×4 pick-ups landed at 13,507, down 27.1 per cent, while pick-ups priced above $100,000 grew 18.1 per cent to 764. Buyers at the top of the range are still transacting. Vans in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonne class also lifted 46.1 per cent to 1,967, giving light commercial dealers a genuine growth line to work with.Â
The customer walking your floor in September has been shopping a market where a third of the year’s new vehicles are Chinese-built, one in four sold runs on battery power alone and August’s best seller plugs in.
They arrive calibrated to that market whether or not you sell into it. Price your trade against it, brief your team on the specification walk-up and have the charging answer ready before it gets asked. Get those points right and August’s momentum could work in your favour in the run through to calendar years end in December.Â
* Data sourced from FCAI VFACTS and the EVCouncil
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