CHINESE manufacturers have become the focus of attention for dealers and buyers with huge sales increases reported by some players while many legacy brands showed softening results, says a new quarterly report by Pitcher Partners.

And, in its latest report, Pitcher Partners forecasts continuing optimism for dealers through the rest of this calendar year.

It said that new-car sales advanced 6.2 per cent in the June quarter, a result that masks some flat results from the traditional car brands and yet also hides the huge sales advances made by some of the Chinese players.

In the latest Pitcher Partners VFacts Q2 2025 Analysis, analysts find that the quarter had a “standout” result with 127,437 vehicles sold.It said that Chinese makers BYD and Chery were the stars of the quarter, with BYD sales at 8156 units, a massive 367.9 per cent increase from the previous corresponding period.

Chery posted 3024 sales, up 180.3 per cent, which Pitcher Partner analysts said was attributed to the strong demand for the Tiggo4 Pro, notably the fourth biggest selling vehicles for the month of June. 

Pitcher Partner said that the growth narrative was clearly largely driven by the emerging Chinese brands “with traditional players largely stable or softening.”

“Despite being flat or slightly down on volume, Mazda, Toyota, and Kia still held their ground as top five players,” the Pitcher Partners Q2 vFacts Analysis said.

The report also noted that the market share is fragmenting, with the top three brands (Toyota, Mazda, Ford) now accounting for 34.8 per cent of total sales, down from 36.2 per cent a year ago. 

“Emerging challengers like BYD, Chery, and GWM are increasingly capturing market share, particularly in SUVs and utes like the BYD Shark,” it said.

“Traditional passenger cars continued to slide: the Toyota Corolla and Camry both recorded double-digit  declines,  reinforcing the broader market trend away from sedans and hatchbacks toward SUVs. 

“Buyers are prioritising perceived versatility and value, accelerating the shift in this segment preferences.”

For dealers, the focus for the quarter was on the Chinese brands. The report said five of the top 15 brands were Chinese or emerging challengers (BYD, GWM, MG, Chery, and Tesla). 

“That reshapes dealership margins, brand strategies and M&A considerations across the network,” it said.On the plus side, dealer groups entered June with “cautious optimism and ended the month with a solid uplift in deliveries,” the report said.

“EOFY promotions translated into strong foot traffic, particularly across non-passenger and hybrid  nameplates. 

“Improved stock availability allowed many retailers to fulfil long-standing orders and the trend toward diversified earnings continued. 

“Dealers are increasingly focused on strengthening aftersales and pre-owned operations to offset tighter new vehicle margins.”

Now, Pitcher Partners forecasts that with interest rate cuts flowing through, new nameplates arriving, Chinese brands accelerating, and hybrid offerings strengthening, “dealers are positioned for a competitive but opportunity-rich second half of 2025.”

It wasn’t all a Chinese year, however, with the report showing Cupra sales up 139.1 per cent and Mini up 77.3 per cent, while Hyundai was up 28.3 per cent and Mercedes-Benz increased by 28.2 per cent and Lexus showed a 17.7 per cent rise.

In its analysis, Pitcher Partners said the drivers for the growth this year to date and towards December, included interest rate cuts, The advance of the Chinese brands, hybrid and PHEV growth, and businesses being the sales driver in new-vehicle sales.

In details:

1. Interest rates: 

Pitcher Partners’ report said the RBA delivered its second interest rate cut in May, with economists forecasting at least one or two more by the end of 2025. 

“This monetary easing is already translating into improved sentiment and higher levels of purchasing intent, which is likely to continue supporting demand through the second half of the year.

“Changes to the luxury car tax (LCT) thresholds effective from July 1 may have brought forward some discretionary demand from Q2. 

2. Chinese brands:

The report said that in June alone, 21,971 vehicles sold were Chinese manufactured, up 95.8 per cent on June last year. 

“This means  that 17.2 per cent of all vehicles sold in the month were built in China, compared to just 9.3 per cent in June 2024. Year-to-date, the shift is just as pronounced: 88,233 Chinese vehicles have been sold in 2025, representing a 47.2 per cent increase and now accounting for 14.1 per cent of the total market (up from 9.5 per cent).

“This growth is being led by BYD (up 144.6 per cent YTD), GWM (up 17.0 per cent), and Chery (up 228.8 per cent). MG declined slightly year-on-year, though remains a major player with 21,674 units sold YTD. 

“Several new brands, including Geely, Zeekr, JAC, and Omoda Jaecoo, are also contributing to greater volumes, having collectively delivered about 3900 vehicles this year despite only recently entering the Australian market.”

The report said that value remains fundamental for Australian buyers and Chinese brands are delivering competitive pricing and improved vehicle quality. 

“The result is a reshaping of the automotive landscape that will continue to challenge traditional OEMs.”

3. Hybrids and PHEVs:

Hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are the standout drivetrain story in 2025, the report said.

The YTD hybrid sales have reached 93,746 units, up 14.9 per cent, while PHEVs surged by 210.2 per cent to 25,613 units. 

“By contrast, BEVs have softened with YTD sales down 6.1 per cent to 47,145 units. The largest decline is from Tesla (down 38.8 per cent) which reflects more competition in the EV space and a change in buyer sentiment, particularly as transitional powertrains such as hybrids and PHEVs offer fewer compromises.”

4. Businesses to drive demand: 

Pitcher Partners said business buyers are driving market strength in 2025 with YTD  sales to business customers (excluding heavy commercial) up by 5.1 per cent to 242,446 units.

“They now represent 40.3 per cent of the total market, up from 38.0 per cent in 2024.

“Private buyers remain more cautious, down 4.3 per cent YTD. However, as rate cuts work their way through the  system, some lift in sentiment among households is anticipated in the second half of the year.” 

The report also noted that the government channel was notably down, declining 18.3 per cent YTD after a strong Q1 that likely reflected pre budget purchasing, while the rental sector remained stable.