VFACTS October 2026: Toyota HiLux leads Australia’s best October

Key takeaways

• Record October with 107,493 sales, up 6.8% on last year
• Toyota HiLux topped the sales charts for the first time in 2026
• Diesel claimed 23.9% share, narrowly ahead of EVs at 23.1%

Australians bought 107,493 new vehicles in October 2026, the highest tally for any October on record and 6.8% more than a year earlier. The Toyota HiLux was the country’s best-selling vehicle for the first time this year, while diesel narrowly overtook electric vehicles as the most popular fuel type.

Toyota HiLux

The total combines VFACTS figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) with Tesla and Polestar deliveries reported by the Electric Vehicle Council. VFACTS alone recorded 103,325 sales, up 3.8%.

Year-to-date sales reached 1,065,191, 2.5% ahead of the same point in 2025, which finished as Australia’s best year on record.

The result came as borrowing costs kept climbing. The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate four times between February and September, taking it to 4.60%.

“Despite continuing pressure on household budgets and higher borrowing costs in 2026, the October result shows there is extraordinary resilience in new vehicle demand,” FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said.

Toyota HiLux beats Ranger as diesel returns to top

HiLux deliveries reached 5954, more than 1100 ahead of the Ford Ranger on 4841. The Ranger has topped the monthly chart four times this year, but its year-to-date lead over the HiLux is now just 129 units. Toyota is also offering $4000 off the HiLux, a rare discount on the ute.

Ford Ranger

Diesel accounted for 25,649 sales, or 23.9% of the market, ahead of EVs on 24,845 (23.1%). That ended a two-month run in which EVs outsold every other fuel type, even though diesel sales fell 14.7% year-on-year. Petrol-only vehicles dropped 35.9% to 23,605.

EV share has more than tripled from 7.3% in October 2025. Add hybrids and plug-in hybrids and electrified vehicles made up 51.2% of sales. Across the full year, petrol still leads with 27.5%.

The Toyota RAV4 finished third, ahead of the Tesla Model Y, which remains Australia’s best-selling EV, and the BYD Sealion 7. In large SUVs, the Toyota Prado (2397) outsold the Ford Everest (1741) and has moved ahead year-to-date, 18,062 to 17,944.

Tesla Model Y

Top 10 best-selling cars in October 2026

Chinese brands keep gaining ground

BYD delivered 10,025 vehicles, up 153.2%, to finish second behind Toyota (20,649, up 4.7%) for the seventh month running. It is only the second time BYD has passed 10,000 sales in a month in Australia.

BYD Atto 3

Geely jumped 520% to ninth, MG rose 31.5% and Chery grew 21.6%. Ford held third despite a 3.4% dip, while Hyundai fell 28.6%, Mazda 19.7% and Kia 12.2%.

Vehicles sourced from China totalled 41,671, more than double last October, while Japanese and Thai-built volumes fell 13.1% and 11.1% respectively. Six of the top 10 models were built in China, including the Model Y.

Top 10 car brands in October 2026

November figures are due in early December. If the current pace holds over the final two months, 2026 will overtake last year as Australia’s biggest year for new-car sales.

Catch up on earlier months in our VFACTS coverage.