Most popular Chinese car brands in Australia in 2024: With models like the GWM Haval Jolion, Chery Omoda 5, BYD Seal and MG ZS, which carmaker is topping the charts?

A quick look at your local supermarket car park reveals that Chinese automotive brands have well and truly become mainstream in Australia.

It’s no longer Holdens, Fords and the big Japanese and Korean brands represented. You’ll see some BYDs, MGs, LDVs and more.

In fact, the latest figures for vehicle sales by country of origin shows that China (78,339) is the third largest source of cars in Australia behind Japan (158,822) and Thailand (115,343).

And there are more brands coming. In recent months, brands including JAC, Zeekr, Smart, GAC and Lynk & Co have all signalled their intentions to set up shop in Australia.

That’s on top of the Chinese brands that are already doing solid business here, like MG, GWM, LDV, BYD and Chery.

But which of the new and newish Chinese brands operating in Australia are performing well, and which ones are not hitting the often lofty sales expectations?

We have broken down sales of the key Chinese brands, excluding Geely-owned Volvo and Polestar, due to their Swedish roots.

Looking at year-to-date sales to the end of May 2024, the leading Chinese manufacturer is MG Motor, which sits in ninth spot overall with 20,369 sales - that represents a 1.5 per cent drop compared with the same period last year.

Up until last year, MG’s product portfolio was old and the brand was relying on low prices and high spec to lure buyers. The MG name also helped enormously. While launching a completely new brand in a market can be challenging, MG already had brand recognition thanks to the famous sports cars from the UK.

These days MG Motor is part of the massive SAIC, which is owned by the Shanghai local government.

But models like the MG3 have struck a chord with Australian buyers. The ageing hatchback is finally getting a new-generation replacement this month, but it’s become the segment leader by some margin, thanks to super affordable pricing - at $18,990 drive-away it was the cheapest new car in Australia, with on-road costs included.

The ZS is the brand’s best seller by a big chunk (9839 units YTD) and is the country’s favourite small SUV. That figure includes both petrol and battery electric versions of the ZS and ZST.

The HS mid-size SUV is only selling in middling numbers this year, but the highly regarded MG4 EV is proving to be a hit, clocking up 2376 sales. The MG5 small sedan has been less successful, with a zero-star ANCAP rating having a big impact on sales.

Replacements for the ZS and HS are coming soon and MG is about to get a big brand boost from the Cyberster electric sports car, as well as other new models.

But can MG maintain its place as Australia’s favourite Chinese brand?

GWM might have something to say about that.

Formerly Great Wall Motors, GWM is home to SUV models under the Haval badge, a ute range, Ora electric models and Tank off-roaders.

Combined, GWM has sold 17,351 cars in Australia this year, up 27.1 per cent year on year, and that’s enough for it to hold 11th place for overall sales. GWM has sold more cars this year than Subaru and Volkswagen.

The biggest-selling model in GWM’s growing portfolio is the Haval Jolion (5826), which is now the second best-selling small SUV behind the MG ZS.

Tank is off to a strong start with the 300, which is outselling similar models like the LDV D90 and Jeep Wrangler.

GWM cracked the top 10 in May sales and given the planned model range expansion, it’s highly likely the company will soon be a permanent fixture in the monthly top 10 - much like MG. Its ability to offer commercial vehicles will help, too, as SAIC's LDV commercial are distributed by Ateco in Australia.

Further down the sales chart is BYD - or Build Your Dreams - which only started operating in Australia about two years ago and has already nabbed a chunk of sales - 7805 to be precise, which is a 67.3 per cent increase on YTD 2023.

Seen as a cut-price Tesla, BYD has had solid growth off the back of the Atto 3 small SUV, while the new Seal sedan is selling like hotcakes, shifting 3386 units so far this year. That makes it the third most popular medium sedan behind the Tesla Model 3 and Toyota Camry.

BYD has confirmed it will add plug-in hybrid models soon, including the just-launched RAV4-sized Sealion 6 SUV and a new ute, dubbed the Shark, coming towards the end of the year.

The brand has bold ambitions to be a top-five brand in Australia by 2025, and then be number one by 2030 – if not sooner.

LDV is another former British brand that’s now owned by SAIC and in Australia it is predominantly a light-commercial offering, with the T60 ute and a selection of delivery vans, alongside the D90 SUV.

So far this year LDV has found 7139 homes, a little less than BYD, but it has a smaller range than big players like GWM.

A new T60 is due soon and the SUV offering is expected to expand, but can LDV ever be as big as its MG stablemate?

Finally, the newest Chinese brand on the list is Chery, with 3216 sales so far in 2024. Still finding its feet in Australia after a messy launch, Chery has three SUVs on sale and you can bet there are more to come.

Chery is not in danger of bothering any of the segment sales leaders just yet, but the 2246-unit haul for the Omoda 5 small SUV is nothing to be sniffed at.

The Tiggo 7 medium SUV is off to an ok start with 883 units and the seven-seat Tiggo 8 has only just launched.

With so many more Chinese brands on the horizon, it’s impossible to predict how it will play out. One thing is for sure - a lot of Aussies are driving Chinese-made cars now and that’s only going to increase from here out.

2024 Year-to-date Chinese brand sales Australia

Brand	Sales year to date	Variance %
MG	20,369	-1.5
GWM	17,351	+27.1
BYD	7805	+67.3
LDV	7139	-15.9
Chery	3216	+218.7