Panic buying triggered by the crisis in the Straight of Hormuz has driven electric vehicle uptake in Australia to a new high.
It has also fuelled a ‘mine is bigger than yours’ contest between Toyota from Japan and BYD from China.
BYD has just rushed a 5000-car shipment of ‘new energy’ vehicles to Australia on a giant company-owned ship, triggering a response from Toyota that it has an extra 10,000 cars arriving down under this year.
But the headline number right now is 20 per cent.
That’s the percentage of pure battery-electric vehicles sold in Australia in May and it is, obviously, a new record.
But no-one knows yet if this is a Hormuz spike similar to the ’toilet paper people’ during the Covid pandemic, or the start of a long-term trend.
Digging deeper into the official VFacts sales figures from May, gathered from the 60-plus brands now in Australian showrooms, proves the conversion to electrification.
That’s the ‘electrified’ total for May, which also reached a new high of nearly 50 per cent.
But that does not mean pure battery-electric vehicles, or that it is a response to Hormuz or even the Federal government’s New-Energy Efficiency Standard.
Lobbyists from all groups, and all makers, will soon be applying their spin and perspective to the numbers, with Omoda Jaecoo one of the first Chinese brands to trumpet its new sales record.
But the one-month shift and the long-term trend is clear.
“Electrified vehicles more broadly, including battery electric vehicles, conventional hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, accounted for 46 per cent of new vehicle sales from all sources during the month,” said the chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Tony Weber.
“The shift is particularly evident in the SUV segment, where consumer preferences are changing rapidly. Today’s SUV buyer is increasingly choosing hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric options,” Mr Weber said.
But the FCAI has an agenda, since it’s funded by car companies, and that includes shifting the emphasis – blame? – away from carmakers.
“Charging infrastructure rollout must accelerate if Australia is to maintain consumer confidence and support continued uptake,” Mr Weber said.
The overall sales total for May was 100,205 vehicles, a decline of 4.8 per cent from 2025 despite the spikes on the electrified front.
BYD was second overall for the month, beating Ford for the second straight month, as it floods showrooms with extra vehicles. The latest push came thanks to the BYD Zhengzhou, a giant roll-on roll-off ship, with 5000 BYD and Denza vehicles for Australia.
But even that is a slight distortion, as not all 5000 are EVs.
“Sixty per cent are pure BEV and 40 per cent are plug-in hybrids,” the BYD spokesman, Paul Ellis, told @60.
“The biggest percentage are obviously our best sellers, the Sealion7 and the Atto 2, which is priced from $31,990.”
While BYD made the early headlines, Toyota was quick to respond with news of extra supplies and a new full-year sales target of 220,000 vehicles.
“Toyota has been part of Australian communities for almost seventy years, and we continue to see strong demand from customers who rely on us for their mobility needs,” said John Pappas, the company’s vice-president for sales, marketing and franchise operations.“This increase in supply is great news for our customers and dealers. It reflects the strong partnership we have with Toyota globally to prioritise the Australian market.
SALES RESULTS FOR MAY
Official VFacts totals
1. Toyota, 16,342
2. BYD, 8211
3. Ford, 7195
4. Hyundai, 7007
5. Kia, 6761
6. Mazda, 5698
7. GWM, 4660
8. Chery, 4401
9. MG, 3872
10. Mitsubishi, 3307