Australians are still buying new cars at high levels – but what they’re buying is changing.

New car sales in 2025 were just 0.9% lower than the year before, yet the mix shifted sharply. Plug-in hybrid sales surged 130.9%, hybrid sales rose 15.3% and battery electric vehicles accounted for 8.3% of all sales.

These shifts matter because different vehicles often come with different price points, running costs and finance structures. Longer loan terms, balloon payments and incentives can all change the real cost over time.