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In a year of highs and lows for the Tesla brand, the local division has held onto its crown but for how long remains the key question
Tesla has hung on to its electric car sales crown in Australia despite sliding sales that have seen China’s BYD overtake the US EV brand for the first time globally.
BYD EV registrations climbed 77 per cent to 25,287 units in 2025, falling short of the 28,856 new-car registrations posted by Tesla last year.
Tesla was aided by a five per cent sales increase for its Model Y SUV that gained a major update in 2025, with the related Model 3 sedan plummeting by 61 per cent year on year.
That contributed to Tesla Australian sales falling by double figures for the second consecutive year – down by 25 per cent in 2025 following a 17 per cent decline in 2024.
BYD’s results were boosted by the arrival last year of the Model Y rivalling Sealion 7, which was the company’s second best-selling vehicle in 2025 with 13,410 units – behind the 18,073 of the plug-in hybrid Shark ute. Sales of the Dolphin small EV hatch also increased by 54 per cent to 3248 units.
It wasn’t all good news for BYD. Sales of the Seal electric sedan and Atto 3 small electric SUV dropped by 41 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
In the global EV annual sales race, BYD did overtake Tesla for the first time – reporting 2.25 million sales of pure battery-powered vehicles compared with about 1.64 million sales for Tesla.
BYD sales totalled 4.46 million for 2025 when including plug-in hybrid vehicles.
BYD is well positioned to displace Tesla as Australia’s No.1 EV brand in 2026. The super-cheap Atto 1 electric city car – priced from $23,990 before on-road costs – launches imminently, with the Atto 2 small electric SUV fresh in showrooms from just $31,990 RRP.
No new Tesla models are currently anticipated for the near future. The company has introduced lower-priced versions of the 3 and Y in the US but are not confirmed for Australia.
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