BYD Shark 6 drives spike in PHEV interest

• March new car sales down slightly (-0.9%) compared to 2024
• Ford Ranger is the most popular vehicle for March, followed by the Toyota RAV4
• BYD Shark leads a charge in PHEV sales
• The pure EV market continues to dip

Plug-in hybrids have seen a surge in interest in the early months of 2025, outselling pure electric vehicles by a substantial margin, according to the latest figures from VFACTS.  

A total of 6932 PHEVs were sold during March 2025, nearly 1600 more than pure electric vehicles (5374). 

More than a third of the PHEV sales were in the light commercial market (2810), suggesting fleet buyers and small business owners are looking to PHEVs as an attractive way to cut fuel expenses. The federal government’s fringe benefits tax exemption for PHEVs ended on April 1, which may also explain the buying rush.   

All 2810 of those PHEVs were the BYD Shark 6, an early arrival in Australia’s plug-in hybrid ute market.  

Ford is set to release a plug-in hybrid version of its top-selling Ranger ute mid-2025, which will likely deliver another uptick in PHEV ute sales.  

While car sales nationally in 2025 are down on the comparable months last year, they are tracking above those in 2023. 

Chinese brands once again drove a lot of new sales growth. Chery and BYD each recorded another phenomenal month, with BYD more than doubling and Chery almost quadrupling the numbers they sold in March 2024. 

Their year-to-date figures were similarly impressive, Chery up 216.6 per cent and BYD up 95.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.  

The BYD Shark 6’s impressive March put it ahead of numerous established rivals in the popular dual-cab ute sector, including the Mitsubishi Triton, Mazda BT-50, Isuzu D-Max and Nissan Navara. 

All the usual suspects appeared at the top of the bestsellers list, with the Ford Ranger ute, Toyota RAV4 SUV and Toyota HiLux ute taking out the top three spots in March.  

Australia’s love affair with SUVs continues, the high-riding vehicles now outselling traditional sedans and hatches by more than four to one.  

The micro car segment saw a surprise boost, however, with Kia selling nearly 2000 units of its pint-sized Picanto in the first three months of 2025.  

Top selling vehicles in March 2025 

Top selling brands in March 2025