Tesla’s Model Y broke new ground in May, becoming the first EV to top the monthly new car sales charts in Australia, data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) revealed.
The electric SUV tallied 5,605 units across the month, comfortably beating out perennial best-sellers in the Ford Ranger (4,474) and Toyota HiLux (4,005) in the process.
The surge in popularity for the Model Y came against the backdrop of yet another record month for EVs, with the 21,303 sold in May accounting for 19.9% of the 106,887 new car sales across the month.
Electrified vehicles as a whole dominated across the month, with 46% of all new vehicles being either battery electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or hybrid.
The push towards EVs comes against the backdrop of steep fuel prices that have dogged Australian households over the past few months, following an escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
Most popular new cars: May 2026
The Model Y’s big result in May represented a 56.6% increase on its sales in May 2025, making it one of the biggest year-on-year (YoY) improvers across the list of best-sellers.
Only the Jaecoo J5, which was yet to reach our shores 12 months ago, experienced a bigger bump among the top ten, while other risers included the Geely EX5 (+255.0%), BYD Sealion 7 (+215.2%) and Chery Tiggo 7 (+203.5%).
On the flip side, the Toyota LandCruiser saw the biggest drop-off among the top 20 new vehicle models, selling less than half (-52.7%) the units it did in May of last year.
Mazda’s CX-5 (39.6%), the Isuzu Ute D-Max (27.5%) and the Ford Everest (-20.8%) were among the other big sliders at the pointy end of the list.
In terms of vehicle make sales, there’s little surprise that Toyota sat atop the pile once again, but its 16,342 new registrations were 30.7% lower than May 2025’s.
Perhaps most notably, BYD held its position in second place with 8,221 new cars sold (+154.6%) to break up some of the more established names like Ford (7,195, -15.0%), Hyundai (7,007, 4.5%) and Kia (6,761, -2.1%).
The budget Chinese manufacturer’s big result comes off the back of an abundance of stock available for purchase in Australia, getting ahead of other heavy hitters in the process.
Mazda’s 5,698 units sold for the month represented a 27.4% decrease and saw it not only slide to seventh in May, but also tumble from second in year-to-date (YTD) sales to fourth, having been overtaken by Kia and BYD.
EVs continue to boom as Aussies turn their backs on ICE cars
With the number of EVs sold in Australia now accounting for one out of every five new cars sold, the push towards fuel-free driving continues to gather momentum.
It’s the third month in a row that the EV market share has been broken, with March’s 14.6% and April’s 16.4% beating the previous benchmarks.
There are a couple of big reasons for why this is, with the most significant undoubtedly being the cost of petrol and diesel in Australia right now.
Although the Australian Government implemented measures to ease the cost of fuel, such as cutting the fuel excise, the cost of keeping an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle on the road remains steep.
With the excise cut set to expire at the end of the month and with no guarantee of extending it, more and more Aussies are jumping ship.
That doesn’t mean that EVs still don’t come without their drawbacks, though; their cost, driving range and charging infrastructure remain barriers to entry for some Aussies, according to a recent Savvy survey.
Drivers taking advantage of FBT-exempt EVs while they still can
Another key factor behind the surge in EV popularity is the Government’s changes to their fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption status, with changes to kick in from the start of April next year for those looking to take out a novated lease for their car.
Although the current cut-off for FBT-exempt EVs is $91,387, this will be lowered to $75,000 from 1 April 2027, before being scrapped entirely from 1 April 2029 in place of a 25% FBT discount for eligible vehicles.
The change means that, for a car that moves over to the 25% discount rather than full exemption, car owners would have to pay thousands, if not tens of thousands, more per year to cover their costs.
For example, a 2026 Tesla Model 3 Performance with a base price of $80,900 would set you back an additional $11,500 per year for an annual saving of just $1,600 more, which simply isn’t achievable for many individuals or families.
However, by locking your novated lease in before the 1 April cut-off, you’ll be able to keep the current tax-positive setup throughout your entire lease term.
That’s causing plenty of Aussies to kick their novated lease into gear, with Savvy Benefits experiencing a 90% bump in enquiries since the Government’s announcement.
“The FBT revisions and pending return of the fuel excise to 100% are key reasons for Aussies turning towards EVs in droves, with Savvy Benefits experiencing a continued increase in novated lease enquiries since they were announced,” General Manager of Savvy Benefits Adrian Taylor said.
“The BYD Sealion 7 and Tesla Model Y continue to be the most popular, with the Zeekr 7X not far behind.
“However, we've started to see some enquiries for higher-end vehicles from people in the top tax bracket, which I expect is driven by the changes to vehicle pricing and FBT.”
