r/EVAustralia

The Zeekr 7X is off to a flying start in Australia, outselling the much cheaper Geely EX5 so far this year, but the Chinese premium brand says its popular mid-size electric SUV can do even better.

Speaking with Australian media at Zeekr Tower in Hangzhou, China, Zeekr vice president Mars Chen said the premium-leaning electric vehicle (EV) is capable of finding 2000 new Aussie homes a month, which would eclipse the top-selling Tesla Model Y.

"I believe we can do more for 7X, because one way we're constantly investing, promoting this car to the public; another way is that our sales network is still growing in the country," said Mr Chen.

"Some cities like Sydney, Melbourne, we're going to have more stores... and especially what [has] happened in the Gulf area, with the rising price [of fuel] for Australian customers, more and more Australian customers [are] thinking about buying EV.

"I think with the capacity from local demand, with our own promotion and the competitiveness of this car, I'm not going to say we are going to do 3000-4000 a month, but 2000 a month is not really that surprising. That's our plan, and that's our mission."

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Monthly volume of 2000 sales equates to 24,000 vehicles annually, which would likely see the 7X topple the Model Y, Australia's favourite EV and top-selling mid-size electric SUV with 22,239 sales in 2025 (up 4.6 percent on 2024).

The Model Y's best sales year was 2023, when 28,769 examples were sold, while just shy of 5900 units have been delivered in the first quarter of 2026, ahead of the BYD Sealion 7 with almost 4500 sales.

First customer deliveries of the 7X began in mid-October 2025, and to March this year it has attracted 1725 buyers, but Zeekr says it's just warming up.

"You know, [in the] EV industry, it has nothing to do with the number of models. Tesla rocked the world with two models, so I think 7X is one of the cars that for this company, we're going to make this a global model – long lasting, [and] keep evolving.

"And, in the near future there will be some, you know, variant based on this 7X. Anyway, the 7X will be a global car."

Asked what he meant by "new variant", Mr Chen responded: "I would disclose more information once we have the internal approval. At this moment, we have many options to make 7X more appealing [and] more interesting for the customer.

"So this '7' series, including the coming 7GT, this couple will be just like Model 3 and Model Y," added Mr Chen.

Zeekr's global vice president also acknowledged that the brand is working on reducing wait times, following reports of six-month lead times on new orders.

"We are happy [with the number of orders] and also very sorry that some customers could not get their car in time, because the demand is over everyone's expectations," said Mr Chen.

"But now we have done a very systematic analysis on the forecast, so we will not 'dump' the car to the market, that's not us, but we do have enough supply on the way to Australia.

"I think the waiting time needs to benchmark the local practice. For me, six months is my problem, one month is maybe the best practice – so I think between one to two months is the right time [to wait for a new car]."

Mr Chen said Zeekr Australia hopes to have supply sorted and wait times reduced to that level by around June.

Pre-orders for the Zeekr 7X eclipsed 2500 in Australia before the electric SUV even arrived in local showrooms seven months ago, and only 1994 of those vehicles were delivered before the end of 2025.

That momentum has continued into 2026, when the 7X outsold the Geely brand's own EX5 (1437 sales in the first three months) despite the fact it's priced some $15,000-$20,000 lower.

And the vast majority of 7X customers in Australia are opting for the flagship Performance variant, which is nearly double the price of the cheapest Geely EX5 at $72,900 before on-road costs. Zeekr Australia chief marketing officer Tony Zhou confirmed the sales split at the moment is 60 to 70 per cent in favour of the Performance.

Perhaps more telling is the fact the price-leading base grade is only accounting for five to 10 per cent of current orders. Mr Zhou said there are no plans to adjust pricing to increase volumes, as the current sales ratio proves that price isn't necessarily the primary purchase factor.

"We will keep [pricing] in the current model [where it is], yes," said Mr Zhou, "because we don't see a reason [to change it]."

Zeekr Australia has confirmed the 7GT electric wagon will join the Australian range within the next 12 months, effectively adding a low-riding version of the 7X.

However, the related 7 or 007 sedan isn't on the table for Australia at this point, due to lack of expected demand for such a model – Mr Chen said the flagship 001 shooting brake is a higher priority.

"7 Sedan? Frankly speaking, not [under consideration] in this moment. Probably in a few years, maybe [the] 001 – we'll always keep [looking] closely at the market, when and should we bring the 001," he said.

The Zeekr 001 is the largest of the Chinese luxury brand's passenger models for global markets if you discount the 009 electric people mover, and was also the first model launched under the Zeekr brand back in 2021.

Based on the Geely Group's SEA platform, which is shared with the likes of the Polestar 4 and Lotus Eletre, the all-electric wagon/hatchback offers up to 930kW in its most potent quad-motor form, making it good for a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration figure of just 2.02 seconds – though this variant appears to be limited to China for now.

Zeekr has also promised to launch the 8X and 9X 'Super Hybrid' SUVs in Australia either late this year or early next. Both models will be looking to take on established German luxury brands, and perhaps aim even higher at ultra-luxury and high-performance SUVs.

Both the 8X and 9X flagships offer tri-motor electric powertrains delivering over 1000kW of power and 1400Nm of torque, rocketing them to triple figures sooner than even the BMW X5 M Competition and Mercedes-AMG GLE63, at least based on claimed numbers.

These new luxury SUVs will also be Zeekr's first hybrid models to be offered in Australia, with the X, 7GT, 7X and 009 to remain electric-only.

Sales of electric vehicles in Australia reached a record high of 16.46 per cent in the month of April, led by a surge from Chinese EV makers BYD, Geely and Zeekr, and improvements across the board.

The new data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and the Electric Vehicle Council shows that 15,459 full battery electric vehicles were sold in April, down slightly from 15,839 in March.

However, in terms of market share that was an improvement from the previous record level of 14.5 per cent a month earlier. In April last year, EVs accounted for just 6.6 per cent of the market.

Chinese car maker BYD was the leader in the EV pack, and the second biggest brand overall behind Toyota, with the BYD Sealion 7 taking the top spot with 1,780 sales, and also boasting strong results from the its lower priced Atto 3, Atto 2, Atto 1, and Dolphin.

The Sealion 7 SUV is also inching closer to the Tesla Model Y, with year to date sales just trailing by less than 500 cars.

EV Sales Breakdown – April 2026

FCAI vFacts 14,001

EVC (Polestar + Tesla) 1,458

EV Sales Total (FCAI + EVC) 15,459

Total Vehicle Sales (FCAI + EVC) 94,049

Indeed, the Sealion 7 SUV is chasing down the Tesla Model Y in year to date terms, although Tesla does start each quarter slowly. The Sealion 7 is now less than 500 cars behind.

The Model Y actually fell to fourth place in April, with 822 sales, beaten by the Geely EX5, which accumulated 1,202 sales during the month, on the back of a new finance incentive, and the Zeekr 7X, which had its highest month of deliveries, coming in third and approaching close to 1,000 sales for the first time.

Other notable mentions include the Kia EV5, which came in fifth with 794 sales, and the Omoda Jaecoo J5 EV, which also showed solid growth in the SUV segment, surpassing 500 sales in the month.

The best-selling EVs in April 2026 were:

BYD Sealion 7 – 1,780 sales

Geely EX5 – 1,202 sales

Zeekr 7X – 973 sales

Tesla Model Y – 822 sales

Kia EV5 – 794 sales

Omoda Jaecoo J5 – 692 sales

BYD Atto 3 – 664 sales

BYD Atto 2 – 660 sales

BYD Atto 1 – 533 sales

MG MG4 – 522 sales

Toyota bZ4X – 483 sales

BYD Dolphin – 445 sales

See the full details of EV sales for each month of the year in our database here.

The Driven is waiting to hear back from various manufacturers regarding sales of some EV models, and this will be updated once they are received.

In April, PHEV sales increased with 9,628 PHEVs sold during the month. This is up from over 8,200 in March.

Image: Riz Akhtar

FCAI CEO Tony Weber said the increase in supply of EVs since the introduction of the New Vehicle Efficiency Scheme, combined with higher petrol prices and the continued support provided through the Federal Government’s Electric Car Discount, is now translating into stronger demand.

“There are around 110 EV models available to Australians, and the supply of EVs continues to increase,” he said. “The Electric Car Discount has provided important stimulus to the market, and its continuation will support the growth of EVs.”

The uptick in EV sales shows demand is now at an all-time high compared to previous years, with YTD EV sales more than doubling in 2026.

What is likely to follow is that those brands with EV stock and large shipments, such as BYD, will see a huge amount of first-time EV buyers become customers, especially as we approach the busiest period of the car sales calendar, EOFY.

Toyota's budget answer to BYD | The Courier | Ballarat, VIC

Toyota has confirmed it will introduce a first-ever fully-electric Yaris hatch alongside the hybrid and petrol versions. 

Toyota's European Vice President of Strategy and Marketing Andrea Carlucci said in an overseas interview the brand will look to embrace electrification in the segment.

"If electrification is the direction, I think we cannot avoid having a fully electrified version [of the Yaris]," Carlucci told Auto Express.

Starting at under $30,000, the current hybrid-only Yaris is the cheapest car for Toyota in Australia, but any electric version is expected to be a decent step up in price.

For anyone looking at an EV novated lease, I wrote up the announced 1 April 2027 FBT changes here:

https://ccschecker.com.au/guides/ev-novated-lease-fbt-changes-2027-ccs-help-mls

The changes are:

• EVs $75k or less: full FBT discount expected to continue
• EVs over $75k but below the LCT threshold: only a 25% discount on payable FBT
• existing leases: expected to be unaffected

So for higher-priced EVs, 75% of normal payable FBT may remain.

The bit I think families need to watch is that an EV lease can reduce taxable income but still create a reportable fringe benefits amount. That RFBA can affect:

• Child Care Subsidy
• HELP repayments
• Medicare Levy Surcharge
• adjusted taxable income

I also made a calculator for that family income-test side:

https://ccschecker.com.au/ev/calculator

For the lease-cost side, Novated Lease Guide is still the best independent tool I know:

https://novatedlease.guide

Credit to u/changyang1230 for that work.

Tesla deliveries in Australia rose sharply in April 2026, according to the latest monthly vehicle sales report from the Electric Vehicle Council.

The industry body's May 2026 edition shows Tesla and Polestar delivered a combined 1458 new battery-electric vehicles in April, up from 702 in April 2025.

That represents a 107.7 per cent increase on the combined April 2025 figure.

Year to date, Tesla and Polestar have delivered 9185 vehicles between January and April 2026, up 46.9 per cent from 6251 over the same period in 2025.

The Tesla Model Y was the highest-volume model listed in the report for April, with 822 deliveries.

April 2026 EVC sales data

Tesla accounted for 1225 deliveries in April, compared with 500 in April 2025.

Polestar recorded 233 deliveries for the month, up from 202 a year earlier.

Across the first four months of 2026, Tesla deliveries reached 8,485 vehicles, up 49.9 per cent year on year.

The Model Y result was the main driver of Tesla's April increase, with deliveries rising from 280 units in April 2025 to 822 in April 2026.

The Tesla Model 3 also increased for the month, with 403 deliveries compared with 220 in April last year.

However, the Model 3 remains down year to date, with 1766 deliveries in 2026 compared with 2266 over the first four months of 2025.

Polestar's result was led by the Polestar 4, which recorded 190 deliveries in April and 499 year to date.

The Polestar 2 recorded 43 April deliveries, while the Polestar 3 recorded no April deliveries.

New South Wales recorded the largest year-to-date increase among states and territories listed in the report.

EVC data shows NSW deliveries reached 3019 vehicles between January and April 2026, up 65.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2025.

Victoria followed with 2717 year-to-date deliveries, up 54.5 per cent, while Queensland reached 1899 deliveries, up 55.9 per cent.

Western Australia was the only state or territory listed with a year-to-date decline, falling 6.9 per cent from 855 to 796 deliveries.

The EVC says electric vehicle sales are recorded at the point of delivery, rather than when orders are made.