Australia is already home to more automotive brands than any other country, making it one of the world’s most competitive auto markets as well as one of the smallest, but Chinese giant BYD says value-focused local consumers will benefit from even more of them as brand loyalty disappears amid the cost of living crisis.
“Australia has the most brands available in any market, but I think what we’re seeing is a shift in understanding as well,” BYD Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Kate Hornstein told CarExpert.
“The walls are coming down to new brands. I think brand loyalty is somewhat disappearing, and I think Australians are very driven, especially in today’s climate, by value and what their own personal family needs.
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“By being able to give them choice and more options, it’s only going to be better for the customer.”
BYD launched in Australia in 2022 and has since announced it will bring its Denza luxury brand – which will play a similar role for BYD as Lexus does for Toyota – to showrooms before the end of 2025.
While it hasn’t announced any others, BYD also has its Yangwang and Fangchengbao brands in China, and models from each are on the cards for Australia – although they will likely be sold as BYD or Denza models.
Other Chinese automakers have also brought several brands to Australia, including Chery which recently launched its Omoda Jaecoo brand and potentially has more to come.
The first Geely-badged model – the EX5 mid-size electric SUV – went on sale here in March 2025, adding to other Geely owned or controlled brand already present locally including Volvo, Polestar, Smart and Zeekr.
While many more are coming here, Australia currently has about 70 auto brands, despite the exit of several in relatively recent years including Holden, Daewoo, Daihatsu, Dodge, Chrysler, Citroen, Opel and Alpine, which will make a comeback in 2026 with the Alpine A390 hatch.
In the space of less than five years, Australia will have added about a dozen new Chinese brands, providing more choice for consumers than ever, but also forcing each automaker to fight over a relatively small sales pie – 1.2 million total sales across all brands in 2024.
That compares to roughly 30 million new vehicle sales annually in China, 16 million in the US, 2.8 million in Germany and 1.95 million in the UK.
Chinese automaker MG became a top-10 selling brand for the first time Down Under in July 2021. It’s now firmly entrenched here and will launch its IM Motors premium electric brand here later this year.
IM Motors is to MG what Denza is to BYD, which previously stated plans to eclipse local market leader Toyota by 2027. Ms Hornstein says Denza will be another alternative to luxury marques primarily from Germany.
“When we look at Denza, the [luxury car] segment is largely populated by European brands and I think when we look at cost of ownership, initial outlay, cost of extended ownership, it’s incredibly expensive for Australians just given where we are geographically,” she said.
“So I think what this provides is another option for customers to explore when they are in the market for a car.”
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