Australia’s new car sales reached record heights in 2025, pushing a slender 0.3 percent past 2024’s result with a total of 1,241,037 deliveries.
Toyota retained the title of Australia’s best-selling car brand, registering 239,863 sales for a 19.3-percent share of the Nation’s entire car market. Second place went to Ford (94,399 sales, 7.6-percent share) and third place to Mazda (91,923 sales, 7.4-percent share).
Australia’s favourite vehicle type is resoundingly SUV, comprising 59.1 percent of all vehicle sales, followed by utes, which take a further 22.0 percent.
Last year’s results – which combined data from both the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and EV Council – reveal a drop in sales for several legacy brands, and an intense, rapid rise in sales for incoming manufacturers.
Many legacy brands which appeared in 2025’s Top 10 cars list have decreased in overall sales year-on-year, including Ford (down 5.8 percent), Mazda (down 4.2 percent), Mitsubishi (down 17.9 percent), and Isuzu Ute (down 12.2 percent).
Pictured: 2025 Chery Tiggo 4 Hybrid
Meanwhile, newcomer brands – while still shy of the Top 10 cars ladder – saw unprecedented growth. Stand-outs include BYD (up 156.2 percent) and Chery (up 176.8 percent), who have risen from 16th to eight and 22nd to 13th respectively.
For the rundown on the country’s favourite individual models, here’s Chasing Cars’ full guide to the Top 100 best-selling vehicles in Australia last year.
Jump to table: Australia’s 100 best-selling cars of 2025
Number one most popular vehicle: Ford Ranger (56,555 deliveries)
Ford’s Ranger ute has held the title of Australia’s Most Popular Car since 2023, when it stole the crown from Toyota’s beloved Hilux.
The Ranger’s prestigious title comes despite a significant drop in deliveries year on year – down nearly 10 percent – a figure likely influenced by a wave of new and affordable utes flooding the market throughout 2025.
Pictured: 2025 Ford Ranger Super Duty
Sales of the Ranger were largely driven by 4×4 variants, which accounted for 53,694 of the Ranger’s total, while 4×2 Rangers mustered just 2861 deliveries, placing Ford fourth in overall 4×2 sales behind the Toyota Hilux (7636), Isuzu D-Max (5754), and Mazda BT-50 (3139).
While Ford’s total sales fell by 5.8 percent in 2025, it remains Australia’s second most popular brand, well behind first-place Toyota but closely followed by third-place Mazda.
Second most popular vehicle: Toyota RAV4 (51,947 deliveries)
In a Top 10 list dominated by utes and large off-road SUVs, the sensible Toyota RAV4 Hybrid mid-size SUV is a welcome presence on this year’s podium.
The success of the RAV4 is synonymous with electrification success for Toyota – the model made the switch to hybrid-only power at the end of 2024, meaning the Toyota RAV4 also takes the title of Australia’s most popular hybrid vehicle.
Pictured: Upcoming 2026 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
A second-overall sales result is awarded to RAV4 despite initial announcements of a new-generation model breaking headlines in May 2025. That model has since been confirmed to launch in March/April of 2026.
RAV4 sales fell by a considerable 11.5 percent in 2025 – no doubt influenced by anticipation of the sixth-generation model. Toyota claims the ageing fifth-generation RAV4’s second-place finish could spell a first-place result for its new model in 2026.
Third most popular vehicle: Toyota Hilux (51,297 deliveries)
‘Australians love the Toyota Hilux’ once again proves to be a universal truth for 2025.
While Hilux has remained as Australia’s second-most popular ute since 2023 – behind the first-place Ford Ranger – the now 10-year-old platform has still secured a strong sales result, falling just 4.1 percent over 2024’s figure.
Pictured: Upcoming 2026 Toyota Hilux
The Hilux’s success comes despite a new-generation being leaked in early September, and confirmed with Australian launch timing and pricing in November.
The new Hilux ute is expected to perform well in 2026, however a Toyota spokesperson flagged an expected rise in more Chinese utes flooding the market and diluting ute sales away from top performers.
Success of the Hilux may be furthered by the introduction of both battery-electric and hydrogen variants, which should debut in late 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Fourth most popular vehicle: Isuzu D-Max (26,839 deliveries)
Isuzu Ute has been a success story in the Australian market for some time, with its dual-cab D-Max ute finishing third on the national vehicle delivery podium in 2023, and fourth the following year.
In 2025, the D-Max again secured fourth place, despite falling 11.1-percent short of its 2024 sales volume. The closely related MU-X SUV placed 20th – falling five positions year-on-year and shedding 14 percent of its 2024 sales volume.
Pictured: Recently revised 2025 Isuzu D-Max
Both vehicles received improvements to their base-level powertrains in October.
Isuzu Ute will face a monumental challenge in 2026, as both of its vehicles exceed national ‘Type 2’ emissions targets. These tighter NVES limits subject both Isuzu models to fines, with no confirmation of any eco-friendly vehicles in the broader Isuzu range to offset the damage.
Fifth most popular vehicle: Ford Everest (26,161 deliveries)
A big success for the Ford Ranger is followed by an equally big achievement for the Ford Everest large SUV, which gained a position in this year’s Top 10, rising from sixth to fifth place despite a 1.3-percent drop in volume.
Pictured: 2025 Ford Everest
The Ford Everest continues to lead the large off-road SUV segment – just – pipping Toyota’s fresh-faced Landcruiser Prado by just 55 deliveries.
Both vehicles sit comfortably ahead of the third-place Isuzu MU-X (15,458 deliveries) and fourth-place Toyota Landcruiser 300 Series (12,290 deliveries).
Sixth most popular vehicle: Toyota Prado (26,106 deliveries)
Perhaps predictably, Toyota’s fifth-generation Landcruiser Prado has been an immediate national sales success, despite its late November 2024 launch and starting price of $72,500 before on-road costs.
While bragging rights for Australia’s top-selling large SUV of 2025 were awarded to the Ford Everest, the Prado fell only 55 units behind – growing a staggering 166.3 percent in sales volume year on year.
Pictured: 2025 Toyota Landcruiser Prado
Note that the Prado was not on sale for the full calendar year of 2024.
This year should be an interesting one for Prado, which will need to hold its position against competitively priced and premium-focused rivals from China such as the GWM Tank 500 – now available in PHEV form – and the Denza B5 PHEV.
Seventh most popular vehicle: Hyundai Kona (22,769 deliveries)
Here’s a car we didn’t see coming. The Hyundai Kona small SUV takes a deserving place on the national Top 10 sales chart for the first time, registering a formidable 31.1-percent increase in sales over its 2024 figure.
The Kona now leads the small SUV segment ahead of 2024’s winning MG ZS – which suffered an 11.6-percent downturn to place 13th overall – and the overnight sales success Chery Tiggo 4, which snagged second place with 20,149 deliveries, up an astounding 950.5 percent year-on-year.
Pictured: 2025 Hyundai Kona
Several Kona variant changes came and went across 2025, with the model spanning multiple different powertrains including naturally aspirated petrol, turbo petrol, hybrid, and full EV. Most variants offer the choice of front- or all-wheel drive as well.
Eighth most popular vehicle: Mazda CX-5 (22,742 deliveries)
Mazda’s long-standing CX-5 mid-size SUV matched its 2024 national sales ranking for 2025, with deliveries remaining very consistent year-on-year, despite an imminent new-generation model. Only 93 units separate the CX-5’s 2024 and 2025 totals, representing a downturn of just 0.4 percent.
Pictured: Upcoming 2026 Mazda CX-5
The CX-5 was the only Mazda model to appear in 2025’s Top 10 best-sellers chart, though the Japanese automaker continued to be Australia’s third most popular brand, registering 91,923 sales overall – just under 2500 sales behind second-place Ford.
Sales of the CX-5 are likely to strengthen this year with the arrival of an all-new third-generation model just months away. That model will initially debut in mid-2026, with an in-house-designed hybrid variant to follow in 2028.
Ninth most popular vehicle: Mitsubishi Outlander (22,459 deliveries)
It was a hard year for Mitsubishi and its volume-selling product, the Outlander mid-size SUV. Sales of the triple-diamond brand have fallen 17.9 percent over 2024, likely due to the staged cessation of ASX, Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport.
Where the Japanese company hoped for its volume seller to pick up the pieces, the Outlander too suffered a year-on-year sales deficit – down 18.7 percent over 2024. Resultantly, the Outlander fell from fifth to ninth place in overall rankings.
Pictured: 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander
Once uncontested as the king of plug-in hybrid SUVs, the Outlanders’ woes only worsened as its plug-in opponent BYD Sealion 6 continued to rise in popularity. That vehicle launched in May 2024, and in 2025 ranked 39th with 9055 deliveries.
The Outlander might be worth watching in 2026, however. Mitsubishi has updated its plug-in hybrid system for greater range thanks to a larger battery. Will this be enough to take on new opponents such as the cut-price BYD Sealion 5 and Chery Tiggo 9?
Tenth most popular vehicle: Tesla Model Y (22,239 deliveries)
The Tesla Model Y snags a 10th-most-popular result for 2025, after missing out by just one place in 2024. A 4.6-percent sales increase year-on-year was crucial for Tesla to reclaim its place on the ladder, thanks to the launch of a heavily facelifted model in May.
Pictured: Facelifted 2025 Tesla Model Y
Despite Tesla’s year-on-year growth, the popular electric mid-sizer was still 6500 deliveries short of its 2023 result, which then earnt it a commendable sixth place.
The Tesla Model Y remained Australia’s best-selling EV for 2025, 8829 deliveries ahead of BYD’s second-place Sealion 7, which launched in February.