While businesses and governments do a lot of heavy lifting, it’s private buyers that account for the highest percentage of new-vehicle sales in Australia.
In the 2025 VFACTS report published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) last year, 600,580 vehicles were sold to private buyers for a total that was 1,209,808 cars.
This includes Tesla and Polestar, which report their sales separately to the Electric Vehicle Council, as well as a number of other auto brands that do not report selling to either industry organisation or another company.
The Toyota RAV4 fell short of claiming the title of Australia’s best-selling vehicle overall last year, but it was far and away the best seller among private buyers with 31,413 delivered. Nevertheless, another 20,534 were delivered to other buyer types, including businesses.
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The Tesla Model Y was the second best-selling vehicle among private buyers, but there’s a caveat here – its figures are based on Electric Vehicle Council data which doesn’t categorise sales into Private, Fleet, Government and Rental categories like VFACTS.
In the EVC’s report we’ve looked at sales classified as Person, One Person and Two People for Tesla and Polestar vehicles. Sales of such vehicles including these sales add up to 625,608 for private buyers.
There are some marked differences between the top 20 list for private sales and the ‘regular’ top 20 list.
Last year’s top seller, the Ford Ranger, was 13th among private buyers, while the third-place Toyota HiLux was 10th.
One ute that actually rose up the charts with business and government sales stripped away was the plug-in hybrid BYD Shark 6 dual-cab, which was the fourth best-selling vehicle among private buyers.
| Model | Private sales | Total sales | % of private sales | Position in overall sales |
| — | — | — | — | — |
| Toyota RAV4 | 31,413 | 51,947 | 60.5% | 2 |
| Tesla Model Y | 17,628 | 22,239 | 79.3% | 10 |
| Mazda CX-5 | 15,951 | 22,742 | 70.1% | 8 |
| BYD Shark 6 | 15,564 | 18,073 | 86.1% | 18 |
| Hyundai Kona | 15,521 | 22,769 | 68.2% | 7 |
| Chery Tiggo 4 | 15,367 | 20,149 | 76.3% | 11 |
| Toyota Prado | 14,168 | 26,106 | 54.3% | 6 |
| GWM Haval Jolion | 13,984 | 19,413 | 72.0% | 14 |
| MG ZS | 12,630 | 20,000 | 63.2% | 17 |
| Toyota HiLux | 12,529 | 51,297 | 24.40% | 3 |
| Ford Everest | 12,470 | 26,161 | 47.7% | 5 |
| Hyundai Tucson | 12,451 | 20,145 | 61.8% | 12 |
| Ford Ranger | 11,516 | 56,555 | 20.40% | 1 |
| BYD Sealion 7 | 11,384 | 13,410 | 84.9% | 24 |
| Isuzu D-Max | 10,690 | 26,839 | 39.80% | 4 |
| Kia Sportage | 10,639 | 19,137 | 55.6% | 15 |
| Mazda CX-3 | 10,112 | 15,429 | 65.5% | 21 |
| Isuzu MU-X | 10,060 | 15,458 | 65.1% | 20 |
| GWM Haval H6 | 9371 | 13,217 | 70.9% | 25 |
| Toyota Corolla Cross | 9157 | 12,686 | 72.2% | 26 |
Another way to look at the data is to sort it by percentage of sales to private buyers.
Naturally, this pushes vehicles from exotic brands like Ferrari, Lotus and Lamborghini all the way to the top. Additionally, there are a raft of vehicles launched during 2025, including the Zeekr 7X, Geely EX5, and KGM Actyon mid-size SUVs.
Nevertheless, there are some surprises here.
Honda’s HR-V small SUV, its second best-selling vehicle in 2025, had the highest private sales share of any mainstream model.
It’s not clear if KGM has deliberately deprivised fleet sales, or is it just trying to attract fleet buyers. All of its members were listed on this list of top 20.
The BYD Shark 6 appears yet again, with a whopping 86.1 per cent of its sales going to private buyers. Its Sealion 7 showroom mate was narrowly behind at 84.9 per cent.
Excluding the discontinued Mazda CX-9 and Ford Puma, of which just one each were sold, here are the top 20 vehicles with the highest share of sales to private buyers.
| Model | Private sales | Total model sales | % of private sales |
| — | — | — | — |
| Lotus Emira | 60 | 60 | 100.0% |
| Lotus Eletre | 9 | 9 | 100.0% |
| Lotus Emeya | 3 | 3 | 100.0% |
| Ferrari Purosangue | 53 | 56 | 94.6% |
| LDV Deliver 9 Motorhome | 14 | 15 | 93.3% |
| Honda HR-V | 4401 | 4817 | 91.4% |
| Zeekr 7X | 1100 | 1206 | 91.2% |
| Ram 3500 | 19 | 21 | 90.5% |
| KGM Torres | 257 | 288 | 89.2% |
| KGM Musso | 1833 | 2081 | 88.1% |
| KGM Rexton | 1216 | 1392 | 87.4% |
| KGM Korando | 165 | 189 | 87.3% |
| BYD Shark 6 | 15,564 | 18,073 | 86.1% |
| Lamborghini two-door range | 101 | 118 | 85.6% |
| KGM Actyon | 142 | 166 | 85.5% |
| Suzuki Jimny | 5983 | 7027 | 85.1% |
| BYD Sealion 7 | 11,384 | 13,410 | 84.9% |
| Ferrari two-door range | 139 | 164 | 84.8% |
| Geely EX5 | 3337 | 3944 | 84.6% |
| Polestar 2 | 626 | 746 | 83.9% |
Polestar 2’s figures are based on the data from Electric Vehicle Council, which divides sales into individual or company purchases unlike the FCAI, and classifies Private, Fleet, Government and Rental buyers.
Leaving aside, 20th position is the Honda Civic with 770 private sales of a total of 933 units or an 82nd place. 5 per cent of private sales share by .
MORE:
VFACTS 2025: Another record year for new vehicle sales in Australia, but growth modest overall
Thanks for reading Australias best sellers among private buyers in 2025: RAV4 Model Y Shark beat Ranger HiLux
