China has overtaken Japan as Australia’s top car supplier this year based on an analysis of 781 passenger vehicles by country of origin.
Figures from Primara Research provided by Australian renewable energy company green.com.au using Australian Bureau of Statistics trade data reveal Australia imported $11.9 billion worth of cars from China, compared with $11.2b worth from Japan, in the 12 months to July 2026.
The turnaround has been fast.
A year ago, China supplied $5.7b worth of cars against Japan’s $12.3b — and five years ago the gap was wider still, with China’s $1.5b against Japan’s nearly-sevenfold $10b.
The dollar value of Australia’s imports from China has grown by 693 per cent since then.
A steady shift, not a sudden one
China’s imports more than doubled over the year, up 107 per cent, while Japan’s fell 9 per cent, as the market grew 10 per cent overall. The gap narrowed steadily, from $3.5b behind in January to less than $600 million behind in June, before tipping in China’s favour in July.
Price and EV competition behind the shift
China’s car exports span Chinese-owned brands such as BYD and foreign brands manufacturing there, including Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y.
“China-made EVs already span the whole market, from budget names like BYD through to Tesla, and premium marques like Polestar and Volvo,” said Dave Green, founder of green.com.au.
“That spread is putting an EV into the purchase decision for buyers at every price point, and it’s already showing up in the import numbers.”
“BYD cutting an EV to under $20,000 drive-away right as this data confirms China has taken the lead shows the tactic — price is how they’re pressing the advantage.
“If that pricing holds, China’s dominance in the car market looks set to keep growing past this milestone.”
What about utes?
China ranks only fourth here, behind Thailand, Japan and the US, though our ute imports from China grew by 15 per cent over the year — nearly five times Thailand’s pace, while Japan and the US both pulled back by about a third.
If you combine utes and cars, China accounted for $13.45b worth of Australia’s imports against Japan’s $13.14b — though by a tighter margin with utes than on cars alone.
Where does that leave the rest of the world?
Car imports in the 12 months to July 2026:
+ South Korea, $4.9b
+ Thailand, $2.5b
+ Germany, $2.5b
+ Rest of Europe, $2.4b
+ US, $1.1b
*Note: Germany is counted separately from Europe. Imports from “other” non-specified other countries accounted for $1.4b.