Key Points
- Tesla Model Y was Australia's best-selling EV in August 2026, with 6,414 deliveries, up 176% year-on-year.
- Battery electric vehicle sales rose 170.5% year-on-year and 15.4% month-on-month, reaching 27,137 units, the second-strongest BEV month of 2026.
- BYD edged past Tesla as the top-selling EV brand overall, with 8,231 deliveries to Tesla's 7,685, even as the Tesla Model Y kept its lead as the single best-selling model.
Tesla's Model Y was Australia's best-selling electric vehicle in August 2026, with 6,414 deliveries, up 176% on August 2025. It helped push battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales to 27,137 units for the month, up 15.4% on July and up 170.5% year-on-year, the second-strongest BEV result of 2026 behind June's end-of-financial-year record.
Tesla led BEV sales however BYD led overall electrified sales when accounting for plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sales as well. BYD's broader lineup, spanning seven models from the entry-level Atto 2 to the larger Sealion 7, outsold Tesla overall for the month: 8,231 deliveries against Tesla's 7,685.
Drivetrain Performance
Sales by Drivetrain - August 2026
Drivetrain | August 2026 | Share of Total | MoM Change | YoY Change |
Diesel | 23,608 | 22.3% | -4.7% | -22.5% |
Petrol | 25,824 | 24.4% | -7.4% | -32.6% |
Hybrid | 18,662 | 17.6% | -0.1% | +7.4% |
PHEV | 10,591 | 10.0% | +2.2% | +171.1% |
Electric (BEV) | 27,137 | 25.6% | +15.4% | +170.5% |
Total | 105,822 | 100% | +0.6% | n/a |
Diesel and petrol sales kept falling, down 22.5% and 32.6% year-on-year respectively, while hybrid sales were roughly flat. The declines in combustion vehicle sales continue a pattern seen through 2026, with buyers moving toward electrified drivetrains as more affordable BEV and PHEV models reach the market.
PHEV and BEV were the only drivetrains to grow. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sales added a further 10,591 units, up 171.1% year-on-year, and combined BEV and PHEV sales made up 35.7% of the 105,822 new vehicles sold in August, the second-highest EV share of the year.
BEV and PHEV Sales Breakdown
BEV sales reached 27,137 units in August, up 15.4% on July and up 170.5% on August 2025. BEVs made up an estimated 25.6% of the new-car market, up from 22.3% in July. PHEV sales came in at 10,591 units, up 2.2% month-on-month and up 171.1% year-on-year, holding an estimated 10.0% share of the market.
Growth was broad-based rather than driven by a single launch. BYD's lineup now stretches from the entry-level Atto 2 to the larger Sealion 7, and Geely's rollout of the EX2 hatchback and EX5 SUV added volume at price points below $45,000. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has suggested some of the swing toward EVs reflects households taking a longer-term view of cost-of-living pressures, favouring lower running costs over upfront price, as reported by Drive.com.au.
BEV vs PHEV - August 2026
Metric | BEV | PHEV |
August 2026 sales | 27,137 | 10,591 |
July 2026 sales | 23,510 | 10,359 |
Month-on-month change | +15.4% | +2.2% |
Year-on-year change | +170.5% | +171.1% |
Estimated share of market | 25.6% | 10.0% |
Top Selling BEV Models
Tesla Model Y remained Australia's best-selling EV by a wide margin, with 6,414 deliveries, up 38.1% month-on-month and up 176% year-on-year. The Geely EX2 was the biggest mover, climbing from 474 sales in its partial first month to 1,279 in August, a rise of 170%, and edged out the Tesla Model 3 for fifth place by just eight units. Reliable year-on-year comparisons are not available for most of the Chinese-brand models below: several, including the Geely EX2, only recently arrived in Australia, and comparable August 2025 figures were not published in the sources available for this article.
Top Selling BEV Models - August 2026
Rank | Model | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change |
1 | Tesla Model Y | 6,414 | 2,324 | +176% |
2 | BYD Sealion 7 | 2,213 | n/a | n/a |
3 | Geely EX5 | 1,947 | n/a | n/a |
4 | Zeekr 7X | 1,748 | n/a | n/a |
5 | Geely EX2 | 1,279 | n/a | New model |
6 | Tesla Model 3 | 1,271 | 603 | +111% |
7 | BYD Atto 2 | 1,122 | n/a | n/a |
Note: only seven models were included in the sales data supplied for this article; a full top 10 for August 2026 was not available at time of writing.
Top EV Brands
BYD was the top-selling EV brand in August with 8,231 deliveries, ahead of Tesla on 7,685, although Tesla sold more BEVs than BYD. Tesla's Model Y remained the single best-selling model, but BYD's wider range, spread across seven electric models, gave it the edge in total brand volume. The two brands posted almost identical month-on-month growth of about 61%, though Tesla's year-on-year gain of 163% comfortably outpaced BYD's 68.8%. Geely was the fastest-growing brand of the month, up more than 900% year-on-year to 4,504 deliveries, though the comparison is skewed by the brand's low base before its March 2025 Australian launch.
Top EV Brands - August 2026
Rank | Brand | August 2026 | YoY Change |
1 | BYD | 8,231 | +68.8% |
2 | Tesla | 7,685 | +163% |
3 | Geely | 4,504 | >+900% |
Full brand rankings beyond third place, including Zeekr, Omoda Jaecoo, Kia and MG, had not been finalised in public FCAI/EVC reporting at the time of writing.
August was the second-strongest month of 2026 for BEV sales, trailing only June's end-of-financial-year rush.
About the author
Danny is a consultant and entrepreneur working at the cutting edge of the electric vehicle and energy transition. He is passionate about educating and helping consumers make better decisions through data.
