Where is your car from? China will overtake Korea in 2023

China overtook Korea to become Australia’s third-largest source of new cars in the first two months of 2023, but there’s still a long way to go before the end of the year.

Year-to-date delivery data shows Australians took the keys to 26,111 new cars made in China this year, compared to 24,852 cars made in Korea.

Sales growth for Chinese-made cars this year is 106.9% year-on-year (YoY), compared to 6.2% growth for Korean imports.

The ranking means China is now number three for sources of new vehicles, behind Thailand (38,998 year-to-date, annual level) and Japan (48,343, down 17.6%). The latter in particular has been affected by supply chain issues, primarily for Toyota.

These figures include sales of various fast-growing Chinese brands, including MG, LDV, GWM/Haval and BYD. But it also includes vehicles produced in China by brands based elsewhere such as Tesla Model 3/Y, Polestar 2 and Volvo XC40.

Expect the number of Chinese-made cars to increase during this year. Not only through the expansion of existing Chinese brands, but also the launch of new ones such as Ora and Tank (both part of GWM), Chery and JAC Motor.

Following the top four sources of cars (all in Asia) are Germany, the United States, England, Mexico, Spain and Hungary.

Sources of cars sold in Australia January-February 2023

Sources of cars sold in Australia in 2022 for context