Australia’s new-car market reached a milestone in the first half of 2026 that most of us saw coming, but few expected quite this fast

Lesley Yates, AAAA Director of Government Relations and Advocacy
info@aaaa.com.au

In June, battery-electric vehicles accounted for almost one in four new vehicles sold in Australia. At the same time, China consolidated its position as Australia’s largest source of new vehicles, overtaking Japan across the entire market –
not just in electric vehicles, and not just at the budget end.
China first moved ahead of Japan as a source of new vehicles in February. By June, more than a third of the new vehicles entering the Australian market were manufactured in China.
BYD alone sold 52,335 vehicles in Australia in the first half of 2026, more than double its result for the same period last year. Every one of Australia’s five best-selling battery-electric models for the first half of 2026 was manufactured in China: the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7, Geely EX5, Jaecoo J5 EV, and Zeekr 7X.
The Geely EX5 sold more than twice as many vehicles as its closest comparable rival. At $36,990 drive-away, the Jaecoo J5 EV is pushing electric vehicles further into the mainstream. At the other end of the market, the Zeekr 7X is competing directly with established European premium brands.
This is no longer an emerging niche. It is the market changing in real time.
So, what is all the fuss about?
Every time a new brand arrives, workshop owners ask the same question: will I be able to get parts for these vehicles?
It is a fair question, and it deserves a straight answer rather than either blind optimism, or the automotive equivalent of shouting, “I’ve never heard of it, therefore it must be terrible.”
Under the Australian Consumer Law, manufacturers must take reasonable action to ensure spare parts and repair facilities remain reasonably available for a reasonable period after a vehicle is supplied.
That obligation does not disappear because a brand is new to Australia or because its parent company is based in Shenzhen rather than Stuttgart.
A manufacturer can limit that obligation by telling the consumer in writing, before purchase, that parts or repair facilities will not be available after a specified period. In practice, however, “buy now, parts unavailable later” is unlikely to become a winning advertising slogan.
Where it gets genuinely grey is the word ‘reasonable.’
The law does not prescribe a fixed number of years for vehicle parts availability. What is reasonable will depend on the type and price of the product, its expected useful life, and what a consumer could reasonably expect when buying it.
For a vehicle expected to remain on Australian roads for well over a decade, consumers and repairers will naturally expect parts support to extend beyond the warranty period.
Established manufacturers have long-standing dealer networks, warehousing systems, and parts-distribution arrangements. With newer brands, we do not yet have the same Australian track record.
That is not evidence that something will go wrong. It simply means we should watch what happens rather than assume everything will be fine – or assume it will not.
The other issue is access, not merely existence.
A part sitting in a warehouse overseas is of little use to a workshop in Dubbo if it takes six weeks to arrive. It is equally unhelpful if the only pathway to that part is through one franchised dealer located two hours away and open at precisely the times the workshop owner is busiest.
The practical questions are straightforward. Can the part be identified? Can it be ordered? Is it available locally? Will it arrive within a reasonable time? Is it supplied at a workable price? And can the independent workshop obtain the information and software needed to fit it properly?
The Australian Motor Vehicle Information Scheme helps with one part of that equation. It requires vehicle manufacturers to make service and repair information available to independent repairers on the same terms as their authorised networks, at no more than fair market value. But the scheme is primarily about information. It does not resolve every problem involving the availability, distribution, or pricing of physical replacement parts.
Nor is this an argument against Chinese-manufactured vehicles. These brands are succeeding because they are producing competitive vehicles across a wide range of price points and bringing them to market quickly.
The issue is not where the vehicle was built. The issue is whether local parts supply, technical support, and repair access can keep pace with sales.
That is the test we should apply to every manufacturer, whether its head office is in Shenzhen, Stuttgart, Seoul, Tokyo, or Detroit.
The Australian Consumer Law provides an important foundation, and the Motor Vehicle Information Scheme gives independent repairers important rights to service and repair information.
Our job now is to make sure those protections work in practice.
That means monitoring parts availability and delivery times, ensuring technical information is complete and usable, enforcing the obligations that already exist, and identifying the gaps that remain.
Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles are not coming to Australia.
They are already here.
The real question is whether our parts supply, repair systems, and regulatory oversight are keeping up.

If you would like to offer your thoughts on this subject, please email advocacy@aaaa.com.au