China overtakes Japan as Australia's largest vehicle supplier

(ECNS) - China has overtaken Japan as Australia's largest source of imported vehicles, driven by rising shipments from automakers such as BYD and growing demand for electric and hybrid cars.

Nearly 36,000 passenger vehicles from China arrived in Australia in April, compared with about 29,000 from Japan, according to data released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The figures brought Chinese vehicle imports to more than 100,000 units in the first four months of 2026, a 51% increase from a year earlier, said the bureau.

More than 40,000 of those imports were electric vehicles, as Australian consumers increasingly turned to fuel-efficient cars.

Data previously released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries showed electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for nearly half of Australian vehicle sales in May. Chinese automaker BYD became Australia's second-largest auto brand by sales, more than doubling its market share over the past year, although Toyota remained the country's top-selling brand.

The rebound in vehicle imports helped lift Australia's total imports to a record A$45.4 billion ($32.3 billion) in April, official data showed.

(By Zhang Jiahao)