China now ranks fourth in Australia when it comes to new-vehicle sales by country of origin. The sales performance of Chinese cars in Australia has been quite remarkable especially within the last 5 years.
Full year sales data from 2016 shows that 2,927 Chinese vehicles were sold in Australia in the entire year. That’s 0.2% of the entire market, and out of the 28 countries that Australia sourced vehicles from in 2016, China was ranked 22nd. Fast forward to 2021 and 61,953 Chinese cars have been sold so far this year (10 months), making up 7% of total sales in Australian market. That’s a 178% increase over the same period last year and a massive 2,017% jump over the numbers from 2016.
Related: Chinese Cars Set New Sales Record in Australia
With this, China now ranks 4th behind Japan (302,221), Thailand (194,195) and South Korea (121,817) and with 61,953 cars sold, is well ahead of Germany (37,289), the United States (28,342) and England (16,838). According to Australian media, the popularity of the Chinese cars is because they offer affordable, attractive, comfortable and, in most cases, safe motoring with prices that undercuts Japanese and Korean rivals.
Among Chinese brands, MG is a clear leader which is now among top-10 brands in Australia with just over 32,000 units sold this year to date. MG is just 3000 units behind Nissan and Volkswagen in terms of sales and has already overtaken Subaru. It also outsells other major brands like Isuzu and Mercedes-Benz. MG3 happens to be the best-selling small car in Australia by a huge margin while the MG ZS leads the small-SUV segment.
Great Wall Motors and its Haval SUV brand are also doing wonders with 14,892 units sold this year, a 273% increase from last year. LDV is also kicking goals, with sales up by 85% to 12,128 units for the current year. The T60 pickup is its biggest seller, with the G10 van also selling strongly.
Source: Cars Guide Australia
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com