BYD delivered almost 19,00 cars in June. Just 243 fewer than Toyota.
The number is 18,88 new units. Electric. Hybrid. Both. It’s a record for the Australian month, smashing previous highs so hard that even the company admits this kind of velocity is “unlikely to be repeated.” Not soon. Maybe not for years.
Toyota came in at 19,12 according to preliminary numbers. Long-time leader. Still king. But BYD is right there. Shouldering in.
Thirteen percent market share. Just shy of Toyota’s 13%. This isn’t an anomaly either. Third consecutive month behind the crown jewel. The half-year count for BYD sits at 52,33 deliveries. Toyota has roughly double that at 95,0 million units so far. Context matters. Ford trailed far behind in third place with only 9,18. A distant echo.
Then there’s Denza. The luxury arm. Nearly 1,8 units landed in Q2, bringing their total since the February launch to 2,4. Niche, but moving.
We asked our customers to back us, and they did.
That’s Stephen Collins. BYD’s COO. He sounded relieved. Or proud. Or both. He credited the record to a “special delivery” operation where they shipped nearly 5,0 extra BYD and Denza units on their own vessel. Early June. Fast.
Why? Cost of living. Fuel prices spiking. Orders doubling. The promise was speed. The result was record-breaking logistics. Factories maxed out. Dealers stayed open on weekends. They brought food vans. Because apparently, handing over keys is a feast.
What did people buy? The Sealion 7. That mid-size SUV. 4,30 units. Then the Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute—3,9 units. Utes sell in Australia. Always have. Followed by the tiny Atto 2 and the Sealion 6.
Here is the strange part. When BYD arrived in 222, their old distributor said they’d beat Toyota by 30. Big talk. The new factory distributor walks that back. Softens it. They now aim to finish “near” the top three by the end of ’26. Humility? Strategy? Hard to tell.
Toyota has led this market for 24 straight years. The only brand to breach 20,0 annual sales last year with nearly 24,0 units. That’s a wall. BYD is climbing it.
Chinese cars are everywhere now. One third of the market. MG. GWM. Chery. All fixtures. The landscape changed while everyone else was busy worrying about margins. BYD didn’t. They just moved fast.
