Australian EV sales in October have dipped after a record September, making up just 7.3 per cent of the total new car market, down from its new peak of 11.3 per cent set a month earlier.
The latest data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) shows that 7,361 battery electric vehicles were sold in Australia in October. This was off the back of a total of 100,658 vehicles sold during the month.
The October 2025 data compares higher with sales in the same month in 2024, where EVs made up just 5.6% of the market, but they are down significantly from the strong end of quarter sales in September.
Most of this decline comes from big drop in Tesla deliveries, which fell from 4,663 in September to just 916 in October – a combination of the usual end-of-quarter Tesla boost and the ending of various incentives. The Model 3 fell out of the top 10 selling EVs, although the second placed Model Y was ahead of the same month last year.
See The Driven’s data here: Australian electric vehicle sales by month in 2025 – by model and by brand
As a result, the BYD Sealion 7 claimed the top spot in terms of the best-selling EV in the market for the month, and BYD trumped Tesla in overall EV sales with a total of 2,229 for the month.
EV Sales Breakdown – October 2025
| FCAI vFacts | 6,291 |
| EVC (Polestar + Tesla) | 1,070 |
| EV Sales Total (FCAI + EVC) | 7,361 |
| Total Vehicle Sales (FCAI + EVC) | 100,658 |
EV sales over the first 10 months of 2024 were just over 76,376, and 2025 shows 83,804 electric cars made it onto the road so far this year.
In October, PHEV sales slight increase from previous months, with 4,724 PHEVs sold during the month, up from 4,491 PHEVs sold in September.
Among the other top selling models, the Geely EX5 took 3rd place with 343 sales, just pipping the Kia EV5 with 340 sales and the BYD Atto 3 with 318 sales. BYD models took four of the top eight spots.
Image: Riz AkhtarOther notable mentions in October include the Zeekr 7X, which secured the 12th spot with 178 sales during the month.
The best-selling EVs in October 2025 were:
- BYD Sealion 7 – 1,341 sales
- Tesla Model Y – 735 sales
- Geely EX5 – 343 sales
- Kia EV5 – 340 sales
- BYD Atto 3 – 318 sales
- BYD Dolphin – 311 sales
- MG MGS5 – 282 sales
- BYD Seal – 259 sales
- Kia EV3 – 241 sales
- VW ID.4 – 197 sales
- Tesla Model 3 – 181 sales
- Zeekr 7X – 178 sales
FCAI CEO Tony Weber said: “The October results confirm that Australians are increasingly choosing hybrid and PHEV models as a practical path towards lower emissions,”.
“Hybrids are delivering strong growth right across the market, while PHEVs are also gaining momentum. Petrol-only vehicles, on the other hand, continue to lose ground. These shifts underline the pace of change in consumer preferences.”
“They offer the ability to drive short distances on electric power while retaining the flexibility and range of a conventional engine.”
After a surge in EV sales during September, thanks to more competition and offers than ever before, October saw the market slow down a bit, although still representing an increase over the last first month of the quarter.
With 3 more models under $40,000 about to land in the coming months, including Australia’s cheapest EV, the Atto 1, it’s likely that a bumper Q1 2026 is to follow.
For now, EV sales of almost 84,000 in 2025 so far are a pretty good indicator that 2025 will be the best year for battery electric vehicle sales so far.
See full details of EV sales for each month of the year in our database here.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
