Australians bought a record number of Chinese-made motor vehicles in 2023, more than a third of which were electric, as sales surpassed South Korean-made vehicles for the first time in a calendar year.
Data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries today reports that 193,433 Chinese-made vehicles were sold in Australia last year, an increase of 57.5 per cent on 2022 sales (122,845).
China is now the third largest source of new vehicles in Australia, accounting for 15.9 per cent of the total – behind Japan (28.4 per cent) and Thailand (21.7 per cent) – after overtaking South Korea (13.3 percent).
It is the first time in a calendar year that China’s new vehicle sales surpassed those of South Korea, and they finished in third place overall, after doing so for the first time in a given month in October 2022.
China was the fourth largest source of new vehicles in Australia in 2021 and 2022, surpassing Germany and the United States, up from sixth in 2020, eighth in 2019 and twelfth in 2018.
The rapid growth in sales of Chinese-made cars has traditionally been driven by domestic brands. mg, Great Wall Engines (GWM), Haval and LDV.
However, in the last 18 months, it has been bolstered by a growing number of Chinese-made electric vehicles, including tesla, which accounted for about a quarter of the 2023 total, Chinese electric car specialists BYD, and models of Volvo and Polar Star – plus the return of Chery.
MG, part of Chinese state group SAIC, was the biggest seller of Chinese brands, ending the year in seventh place, matching its ranking last year, and up from ninth in 2021 and 30th in 2017.
It reported 58,346 deliveries, an increase of 17.7 percent, much of which came from two new models, the MG 4 electric hatchback and the MG 5 gasoline sedan, which contributed 5,532 of the 8,764 additional sales in 2023.
The MG ZS was the fifth best-selling new vehicle overall (and the best-selling small SUV for the third year in a row), while the MG 3 city hatch was the best-selling “light car under $30,000” for the third year in a row.
Tesla was the second largest Chinese-made automaker, despite being an American company, with 46,116 reported deliveries, up 135 percent from 2022 performance, ranking eighth on the sales charts.
It was divided into 28,769 Model Y SUVs (up 230 percent), the sixth best-selling new vehicle overall, and 17,347 Model 3 sedans (up 59.5 percent).
It is estimated that more than a third of Chinese-made cars sold in Australia last year were electric, compared to 7 per cent of the entire market.
In 13th place in the ranking is GWM, with 36,397 sales (an increase of 45.3 percent), led by a record 11,252 deliveries of the GWM Haval Jolion small SUV.
GWM finished in eighth place in December 2023, ahead of MG in ninth, following strong sales of the GWM Haval Jolion, which was the second best-selling model in the “small SUV under $45,000” category.
Utility vehicle and van specialist LDV, owned by SAIC but distributed by an independent company in Australia, followed in 16th place with 21,298 sales, up 30.9 per cent on the 2022 result of 16,269 deliveries.
The GWM Ute, with 9,616 deliveries, up from 7,806 in 2022, was the best-selling Chinese ute, ahead of the LDV T60 (9,106), which was the company’s best-seller.
Electric car specialist BYD, now the world’s largest maker of purely electric vehicles, reported 12,438 deliveries in 2023, an increase of 489 percent, although it did not start selling mass-produced cars until the second half of 2022.
The count includes 11,042 BYD Atto 3 small SUVs, which for most of the year was the company’s only model, as the Dolphin small hatch (942 sales) and Seal sedan (471 sales) arrived at the end of the year.
Deliveries of 5,890 vehicles were reported from Chinese brand Chery, which returned to Australia in 2023 after an eight-year absence.
Chery sold cars here from 2011 to 2015 but left amid poor crash test results and a recall to remove asbestos found in its vehicles. Both of the company’s new models feature five-star ANCAP safety ratings.
Other Chinese-made cars sold in Australia include the Polestar 2 electric car (2,463 sales), the Volvo XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge electric SUVs, and the BMW iX3 electric SUV.
According to the source, the country of origin and sales data from 2018 to 2023 are:
Japan – 28.4 percent
Thailand – 21.7 percent
China – 15.9 percent
South Korea – 13.3 percent
The data center of Drive.com.au also provided the sales records and ranking in the year 2023 for MG and Haval brands as follows:
Great Wall Motors Haval: 36,397, 13th absolute place in sales
LDV: 21,298, 16th in sales
BYD: 12,438, 21st place in sales
Chery: 5,890, 29th place in sales
In conclusion, China is now Australia’s third-largest source of new vehicles, and with the increasing availability of electric vehicles from Chinese manufacturers, this trend is likely to continue.
