Fuel prices in Australia reached highs earlier this year but, perhaps surprisingly, sales of fuel-efficient hybrids haven’t received anywhere near the same bump as plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) or electric vehicles (EVs).
A total of 104,864 hybrids reached Australian buyers in the first half of 2026 according to data supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), up 11.9 per cent on the first half of 2025.
In contrast, PHEVs rose by 111.9 per cent to 54,256 units, while EVs rose 119.8 per cent to 103,843 units.
Hampering hybrid growth were declines for market leader Toyota and its luxury subsidiary Lexus.
Brands
Toyota remains the dominant player in Australia’s hybrid market, but with 44,122 deliveries in the first half of 2026 it’s down 20.2 per cent – or 11,160 units – on the same period last year.
Hyundai, in contrast, has narrowed Toyota’s lead, rising 60.8 per cent or 8324 units year-to-date.
Kia has had even more impressive growth, rising 139.1 per cent on the same period last year to 10,168 units and knocking GWM out of third place.
The Chinese brand is sitting in fourth place so far this year (7226 deliveries, up 29.3 per cent), followed by Honda (4840, up 33.6 per cent) and MG (3797, up 41.9 per cent).
Lexus has dropped from fourth to seventh position, down 26.8 per cent to 3913 units, while Subaru has risen to eighth (3594, up 247.9 per cent).
The top 10 was rounded out by Chery, which delivered 2537 vehicles after launching its first hybrids here late last year, and Nissan which rose 12.5 per cent to 2524 units.
Hybrid newcomer KGM delivered 104 electrified Torres and Actyon SUVs, with Maserati delivering 16 hybrids, Chevrolet just two Corvette E-Rays, and Renault recording a single delivery of its upcoming hybrid Symbioz.
Models
The Toyota RAV4 remains the hybrid market leader, with 14,894 deliveries; the other deliveries recorded for the RAV4 nameplate were of the new PHEV variant.
In the first half of 2025, a total of eight of the top 10 best-selling hybrids were produced by Toyota Motor Corporation, with the other two being Hyundais. This year, however, GWM and Subaru had one hybrid each in the top 10, plus three from the Hyundai Motor Group.
The Hyundai Tucson and Kona are selling particularly strongly, taking the second and third spots – up from fourth and fifth in the same period last year.
| Model name | Total deliveries | Hybrid deliveries | Hybrid share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota RAV4 | 15,551 | 14,894 | 95.8% |
| Hyundai Tucson | 11,236 | 8400 | 74.8% |
| Hyundai Kona | 13,132 | 8086 | 61.6% |
| Toyota Corolla | 7314 | 7111 | 97.2% |
| Toyota Corolla Cross | 6867 | 6867 | 100.0% |
| Kia Sportage | 9654 | 6707 | 69.5% |
| Toyota Camry | 6359 | 6359 | 100.0% |
| Toyota Yaris Cross | 4247 | 4247 | 100.0% |
| GWM Haval Jolion | 11,480 | 3468 | 30.2% |
| Subaru Forester | 5724 | 3030 | 52.9% |
| GWM Haval H6 | 7730 | 2848 | 36.8% |
| Hyundai Santa Fe | 3089 | 2715 | 87.9% |
| Kia Carnival | 6009 | 2689 | 44.7% |
| Chery Tiggo 4 | 13,638 | 2537 | 18.6% |
| Toyota Kluger | 2475 | 2468 | 99.7% |
| MG ZS | 8984 | 2349 | 26.1% |
| Nissan X-Trail | 7432 | 2039 | 27.4% |
| Lexus NX | 2904 | 1947 | 67.0% |
| Honda CR-V | 3279 | 1795 | 54.7% |
| Honda HR-V | 2198 | 1509 | 68.7% |
| Hyundai Palisade | 1432 | 1406 | 98.2% |
| Hyundai i30 | 3670 | 1308 | 35.6% |
| Honda ZR-V | 2058 | 959 | 46.6% |
| Toyota C-HR | 819 | 819 | 100.0% |
| MG HS | 2185 | 811 | 37.1% |
| Toyota Yaris | 996 | 766 | 76.9% |
| Kia Sorento | 2752 | 697 | 25.3% |
| MG 3 | 3917 | 637 | 16.3% |
| Lexus RX | 1182 | 614 | 51.9% |
| GWM Haval H7 | 571 | 571 | 100.0% |
| Subaru Crosstrek | 4299 | 564 | 13.1% |
| Toyota Tundra | 551 | 551 | 100.0% |
| Lexus UX | 509 | 506 | 99.4% |
| Nissan Qashqai | 736 | 485 | 65.9% |
| Lexus LBX | 473 | 364 | 77.0% |
| Honda Civic | 342 | 320 | 93.6% |
| Lexus ES | 318 | 318 | 100.0% |
| GWM Tank 500 | 629 | 268 | 42.6% |
| Honda Prelude | 228 | 228 | 100.0% |
| Lexus LX | 378 | 124 | 32.8% |
| Hyundai Staria Load | 1405 | 87 | 6.2% |
| Kia Niro | 96 | 75 | 78.1% |
| KGM Actyon | 166 | 72 | 43.4% |
| GWM Tank 300 | 2759 | 70 | 2.5% |
| Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series | 6451 | 40 | 0.6% |
| Lexus LM | 38 | 38 | 100.0% |
| KGM Torres | 213 | 32 | 15.0% |
| Honda Accord | 29 | 29 | 100.0% |
| Hyundai Staria | 556 | 18 | 3.2% |
| Maserati Grecale | 98 | 15 | 15.3% |
| Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| Lexus LS | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| GWM Cannon Alpha | 5724 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Maserati Coupe/Conv | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Renault Symbioz | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
MORE: VFACTS June 2026: New-vehicle sales set all-time monthly record as BYD and Tesla surge