Australia EV Sales March 2026: 14.5% | April Market Recommendations

Hey everyone, I'm Tom and this is Joy. Hello. And welcome to our April summary of EV sales

in Australia, followed by what we recommend in terms of EVs to purchase. In April 2026,

and in April we'll reflect on obviously the March data from different sources including

the FCAI and the EV Council. So let's focus on the driven article written by our good

friend Riz and he reports that yes, EV sales have hit a record high in March 2026, which

is fabulous news for us EV followers and commentators. And he notes a record number

of EV sales and that's four electric vehicles, by the way, 100% battery electric vehicles.

Over 15,000 sales, which is a record for Australia and a record share as well, 14.5% of the market,

which is outstanding. Yep. Yep. Each car is improving, you know, the

pollution. Yep. And reducing the reliance on fossil fuel as well, given obviously what's

happening in the world right now. So yeah, that's good news. And look, I think this is

only just the start. I think when we look at May next month, looking at the April data,

I think it'll be even higher as well. So we shall see. Because sales means actual deliveries,

isn't it? So it doesn't include people who have maybe like gone to a dealership and put in an

order for a car or put a deposit down. Yep. These are people who actually are driving their cars

now. Got the car in their hands, so to speak. So that's good. And that doesn't count PHEVs,

by the way. So if you actually include PHEVs, they were more sold in March compared to February as

well. So the energy transition is well and truly underway in Australia, which is great to see.

Let's have a look at the top 10, or at least the top, I think 12 actually reasons have gotten

is listed here. Top 12 best selling EVs in March 2026 and obviously dominated by the big two brands

in Australia being Tesla and BYD, taking out the lion's share of the sales. Tesla Model Y

still going strong, almost 3000 sales. And the BYDC Lion 7, which I'm happy to see almost 2000

sales as well. They're both all rounder cars, isn't it? That's why they're there. They're both

great cars, honestly. They suit so many different demographics. So that's why you see that in the

sales. That's right. It's a bit like Apple and Android, right? You've got two different options

now. So Tesla BYD. You see them a lot around Al and Nick of the Woods anyway, around in Sydney,

for sure. And other brands, you know, other big brands now becoming almost household names,

I think. Geely, Jaikoo, I think Stunt, Infiltrate, Households too, certainly the big cities.

MG, always going strong. I see our MG S5 selling well as well, for March. And Zika, Zika's selling

well as well. Third on the list, 7X. Yep. And what do you call it? You've got the Kia's there,

a couple of Kia's. Yes, Kia, you know, well known brand in Australia. There's no problem buying

that car, for sure. Yeah, so some good names there. And there are certainly some of the

cars we will recommend in the next part of this video, which is which car do I buy in April,

2026 in the different segments. So I think we should start with the most popular segment,

given the car sales data there, which is the midsize SUV for electric vehicles. So again,

in our list here, we've got, by the way, this is publicly available, our spreadsheet. So

check it out for yourselves. But looking at this list, we've got some great cars. We've got Zika

7X, Tesla Model Y, BYDC Line 7, X-Planck G6, the IM6, DPEL S07 and Elite Motor C10 being the

more budget friendly options in this list. They're all sort of at 4.7, 4.8 meter length of

vehicles, so that classic crossover size. And all have a range of around, let's see,

sort of that high 400 kilometers WLTP, which in real terms is probably low 400s, so to speak.

All rural drive powertrains in this category. And depending on the brand, you can step it up to

different battery size and also different performance specs as well.

But we'll talk about the all-wheel drive versions later.

That's right. So in this list here, obviously Tesla Model Y has sold the best,

followed by BYDC Line 7. And they're probably the two that we would recommend,

if you want to go a safe route. But I think also the Zika 7X is something you should look at as

well. Although I feel like the Zika 7X, I want to talk about it more in the all-wheel drive

segment. But it is, yeah, if you're sort of like, you like the idea of a mid-sized SUV,

but maybe you don't want a Tesla, you don't want to look like every other car on the road, right?

So that's when the Zika comes in, I think, because if you're at the shops at the moment,

you will probably try and get into your car and then realize, wait, this isn't my car because

there's so many other Tesla Model Ys on the road. So if you don't like driving the same car as

everyone else, then yeah, check out the Zika 7X because it is a very good-looking car.

And yeah, you've got everything you want in the Tesla, but it's not a Tesla.

And for me, drive quality is very important. So I think the Zika 7X actually drives,

in this category, I think the best of the lot. This is a big call from me, but I think

it's very BMW-like, so to speak. Even the rear-wheel drive drives quite well.

That's true. I'm just looking at the list now and yeah, it would. I mean, even in this sort of,

you know, rear-wheel drive category, yeah, between the Zika and the Tesla, yeah.

The Tesla can be a little bit firm in the suspension, but Zika 7X, I think, balances

suspension with drive quality quite well. So if you want to take a plunge for a new-ish brand in

Australia, I think Zika 7X might be the way to go personally. X.G6 is usually your recommendation.

Normally my recommendation. Yeah, only because it's currently April 2026 and obviously there's,

you know, the headquarters is currently locked in like a federal court battle with the local

distributor. So I think until that sort of gets all sorted, you know, if you can afford to hold

off buying a car, like if you don't need to buy a car in April and you like the X-Ping,

which I obviously love the X-Ping, then yeah, maybe just hold off buying if you can afford,

you know, the time and the money to actually hold off buying the car. I think it's still a great

car, but just yeah, I think just for the time being, there's just a few issues going on. So

X-Ping is a great brand. They'll recover. Just give it a few more months. So nothing to do with

the actual car itself, but just the circumstances surrounding the brand at the moment. Correct.

The dark horses of this category, I think of the D-Pal SO7 and the Leap Motor C10, I can't

believe there's still price like that in that $50,000 for Drive Away. Leap Motor C10, now the B10,

the younger sibling of this car, has actually increased in price, which we'll talk about very

shortly. So I've got a few in the C10 and probably jump up as well very shortly. So I reckon if you

want to buy again, grab the C10 right now because it's actually pretty good buy. One pedal drive,

good range, good battery, LFP and pretty good drive quality, reasonable as well if you turn off

the ADAS, which we've shown in the short. D-Pal SO7, same thing, good range, very good quality

interior. Again, another dark horse in this category. So if you want to bargain for a mid-size

SUV, those two cars are my pick as well. Yeah, with all of these cars in this segment, I think

they're all LFP batteries and that's the one that you can charge all the way up to 100%.

The only exception is the D-Pal SO7, which is the older NMC style battery. So that one,

you don't want to charge it to 100% every day, kind of keep it at like 80-90% and then only

charge it to 100% if you're going on a road trip. Yep, I guess that's the only caveat, isn't it?

Yeah, so lots of good options here in this mid-sized SUV segment. So if nothing else,

we will move over to the next category, which is the small to mid-size SUV category. So

where in our books, it's between 4.5 to 4.7 litres, so just a slightly smaller segment.

And in this lot, we again have very good cars here, like the Elite Motor B10, which we just

discussed recently, Gilly EX5, GSE R&V, and then others like the Nissan RAI QE V5,

Hyundai LXO, they're kind of newer in this market. And then the European ones in the

Volkswagen and the Coupre. So I think in this category for me, the top three, maybe even the top

four I'd recommend is the Elite Motor B10, the Gilly EX5, the GSE R&V, and the Kia EV5. Same for

you. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think this one's a bit different because I think because you've got the

sort of like, you've got a couple of the non-Chinese brands here, I think that's where

you get an alternative, isn't it? Because I feel like with the other one, it's like,

it's basically dominated by the Chinese, isn't it? Yeah, just looking back at that chart,

they're all Chinese cars. Yeah, exactly. So this is where it's like, if you want something different

and you're willing, you're willing to pay for it, but this is where you get to have, maybe you pay

a little bit more of a premium, you can get a Korean car, you pay a significant premium,

you can get like a European car. So I think you kind of almost have two different tiers here,

and it kind of depends what you want. But yeah, if you're just looking for the absolute best value,

then yeah, I mean, I like the Geely. I really do like the Geely. I think so too. I think I would

have said limo to BTEM. It is a smaller car. This straddles between the small SUV and the small

mid-sized SUV. Had it been still $40,000, that literally the price increased overnight, by the

way. So this is a breaking news for us. But now that Geely is $1,000 more, I know its front will

drive, but you do get a lot more inclusions with that price. Massage seats. Massage seats.

Better sound system as well. I mean, although the BTEM is not bad actually.

Yeah, yeah. But I know, I mean, now that the price is sort of like neck and neck again,

I think the Geely still comes out on top. And the Geely's actually been out for quite a while now,

and it's still like, you know, holding up really strongly as a competition.

It's probably a more notable brand as well, Geely. They're a big clump-glomber in China.

And look, the drive quality in the BTEM is probably marginally better given it's

rear-wheel drive. But Geely can be a little bit floaty with the suspension.

That's the only thing I guess you should be aware of.

But I mean, there's rear-wheel drive and there's rear-wheel drive, and I feel that like of

the rear-wheel drives, the leap motor isn't as good as some of the others.

True, true, true.

Yeah, so yeah, it's not that big a deal. Like don't feel like it's a massive step up in drive

dynamic, yeah.

I guess if you want a safe bet, the Kia EV5 is quite good, obviously. That sells very well,

always makes these top 10 lists. And it's a legacy brand now, it's well known,

you probably can't go too wrong buying Kia. It is more expensive, probably for a reason.

But I think it's worth the price premium, you know, because Kia's been around forever,

they're not going anywhere anytime soon. And if anything, if you need parts or if there's a

warranty issue, you know, you won't have any trouble with a Kia dealership.

If you really want to take a plunge, the GAC IRB, I do recommend checking out.

I think of all the front-wheel drive vehicles, the GACs do drive the best.

Again, relatively unknown in Australia, GAC, but GAC stands for Guangzhou Automotive.

And if you ever go to Guangzhou in China, they are everywhere. This is like the Toyota of Guangzhou.

And you look on the roads, they've done joint ventures with Toyota, Honda,

and like the taxis at Guangzhou, GAC. Yeah, I almost feel like the the Ion V and the Ion UTE

for front-wheel drive, they drive as well as the Leap Mono like V10 and C10 for rear-wheel drive.

So it's kind of like, yeah, one's the top of the like front-wheel drives and one's at the lower end

of the rear-wheel drive. And they're just super sensible vehicles. And it's got a fridge, freezer,

and heater built in. So check out our video, we did in summer where we brought that car to the

mountains for an ice cream. Yeah. And if money is not an object for you,

look at the Cooper Taviscan. That is a good fun car. That is absolutely like if you want to,

you know, if drive dynamic is the thing for you, put it in like Cooper mode and just, yeah, drive

everywhere with a big smile on your face. That's a heck of a lot of fun, that car. So yeah, definitely

just test drive that for just for a smile on your face. Yeah, software is not so good,

BW, but hey, y'all are right. Okay, so that's the small to mid-size. I think we should probably

focus on the all-wheel drives next and then we'll work our way down. Okay, or should we go the other

way? Small to big. You lead. I'm excited. You've spoken about Cooper. I'm excited about all the

drives now. So let's talk about the all-wheel drive SUVs. So in this category, there's some really

good cars if you just want to treat yourself and just splash a bit of cash. Yeah. Or if you live

somewhere that's always raining and, you know, you actually need the car to be able to grip the

road wherever you go. Well, you go to the ski fields, right? That's another option. Yeah,

well, I mean, front-wheel drive is good for that, too. True, true. But nothing like all-wheel drive,

right? So in this category, Zika 7X, that is a phenomenal vehicle, all-wheel drive. We've done

the track work on this car. Thanks to Zika, who invited us to Adelaide, Southern Australia's

Tellam Bend. Very good car. Obviously, the Tesla's in a Model Y performance, Model Y long range,

Model Y L now, the bigger car. We'll talk about that again in the 6.7-seater.

BYDC Line 7 all-wheel drive, IM6 all-wheel drive, Subaru Sopterra. Again, all-surprised by the

drive quality of that car. And then the Litmotor C10 all-wheel drive, Sports Plus, which was just

launched last month. And that's, again, very good value for $59,000, too. Yeah, yeah. I mean,

I think in this category, in terms of value for money, you can't go past Zika 7X. That is the

one that just drives phenomenally for an all-wheel drive. And for the inclusions that you get for

that relative to the performance version of the Tesla Model Y, it's like, yeah, the price difference.

But then, you know, actually, I feel like you even get a little bit more with the Zika 7X.

I think you do. There's a lot more creature comforts in the Zika 7X. And the suspension

is a lot better, too. Drive quality, the Model Y performance is more explosive. You're like,

what is going on? It just throws you out of your chair almost. And it's very responsive. Whereas

the 7X, I feel, is a bit more controlled. Yeah, it's definitely in terms of sitting in the cabin

and what you feel like. It's a much more premium experience in the Zika 7X compared to the Tesla.

The Tesla's a bit spartan, isn't it? It's like a bit more, which some people simply like that.

I've been accused of being an interior snob, so I'm going to lean right into it. The 7X is a nice

experience, for sure. C-line 7, if you want an all-drive, that's probably

one of the, I guess, better value cars. That's $68,000 drive away. A lot of people are going for

that as well. But yeah, and the Solterra, look, if you want an unknown brand in Subaru,

you know, I'm previously a Subaru fan having owned one. It's not bad. And I am, you've got the backing

of MG, isn't it? So, it's not like an unknown thing. So, you've got the benefit of that dealership

network again. And just note, a lot of these cars are NMC, so you just charge 80%, 90% most days,

except for the BYDs. So, if you want a blade battery that's 100% LFP, and same with Elite Motor,

then yeah, you buy those two cars. Well, that's the benefit of BYD, isn't it? Because they make

their own batteries. So, there's kind of like a little bit further ahead in terms of the way the

tech is going, I guess. And also, if you need air suspension, so if you've got a sloping driveway

or something that you don't want to bottom out on, then the Zika 7x and the IM6s have air

suspension. So, you can increase, particularly 7x, increase to 200 plus millilitres of ground

clearance, which is pretty impressive for this segment. And the Zika 7x, too, has two tons of

brake towing capacity. Again, 7x seems to be a pretty good buy in this category. Okay, so that's

all drive SUVs. Let's move on to the small SUVs now. Small SUVs, this is becoming an emergent

segment, I think. This feels like the hot market. I think when we get to May, a lot of people will

be buying this car, too. I guess have a city car to run about to just put their diesels aside

while the fuel crisis is going on. So, lots of competition in this segment right now. So,

we've reviewed a lot of these recently, literally in the last few weeks. So, GAC,

INUT, that zippy little Chinese Mini, so to speak. Although, admittedly, the Mini Aispin's also

Chinese, built in China. BYDY2, very sensible ride. JQJ5, which seems to be the winner in this

category at the moment, given the price. It's kind of like trending, isn't it? The JQ is trending.

Well, I've got a feeling the price is introductory, so get in where you can before they raise it,

which I'm pretty sure they will. They can't have that kind of value for long. MG4 EV Urban,

great little sensible vehicle. MGS5, which is what we have. We love that car, very sensible ride.

It's probably on the larger end of this segment, too. But that makes it nice, because it's kind

of like, it's not that much smaller than your mid-sized SUV, which is a RWR. True, true, true.

You can squeeze into those parking spots. That's also true, and drives fabulous as well,

RWR drive. Kia EV3, a bit more expensive, but again, from a legacy brand like Kia,

I'll go too wrong. Zika X, I won't say too much, because they've just had a refresh,

and I think it'll be launched very soon as well with the pricing, so stay tuned for that one.

I love that car, by the way. It's a fabulous drive, being a Zika powertrain.

Other cars are a bit more expensive, so the Renault Scenic E-Tec, which I enjoy loved,

being a French man. Yeah, and you can pair that with the Mini Countryman, even though that's,

what do you call it, that's... Well, is that Mini Countryman actually European? It is.

The Countryman is, but the Aceman is made in China. So if you like sort of European flavour,

yeah, check out the Renault and the Mini Countryman.

Smart hashtag one and three. I like those cars, just a bit more pricey than the rest,

unfortunately, in this segment. Suzuki, Vitara, I haven't got the pricing on that just yet.

So I think of this category, people have asked me a lot, and you too, which one would you get,

right? So obviously, we bought the MGS5. We're very happy with it, but if you want a slightly

smaller vehicle, I reckon between the JQJ5, which is a phenomenal buy for now, things may change in

May, Ion UT and the MG4 EV Urban, they're my three picks at the moment. Yeah, definitely. I think

if you can afford to just completely go down in size, I think the Ion UT, no, it doesn't have

much boot space though. So if you need quite a bit of boot space, then that's probably not the one

for you. And in that case, the MG4 EV Urban. But the Ion UT is just so fun to drive. So much fun.

Honestly, for a front wheel drive, it's so zippy. Whatever I said about the Ion Vic applies here for

the GAC Ion UT, good quality, just sensible code. And even more so, because they're kind of like,

it's like when you evaporate something, and so the water goes, and so it's like, you just have

like this condensed little package of fun. That's what the Ion UT is. I mean, I shrunk the Ion.

Yes. Yeah. But if you need it to be, if you can't have it that small, or some people don't

like the look of it, they don't want to look like an ultimate version of a mini. Like a buggy car,

yeah. Yeah. So if you don't like the look of it, I mean, somebody really loves the look of it. But

if you want like a sensible looking car that's not going to look out of place, then you go for the

MG4 EV Urban. Someone said in the comments of our video, the MG4 EV Urban reminds them of Corolla,

which I said mission accomplished. So I think if you just want a Corolla sensible car, then

EV Urban. Yeah. Yeah. So lots of options here, for sure. So yeah, I think we'll see a lot more

of these sales in May next month. So let's stay tuned for that. Next step down is the Hatchback

segment in this category. Now this is still emerging, I think there's still time or still

room to grow. And we're still waiting on the Gila EX2, which is the best selling EV in China at the

moment. So I think once that drops in Australia, we'll see a lot of sales for that car, right?

That's rural drive, that's LFP, decent range, hopefully. And it's the only rural drive vehicle

in this category, right? Otherwise, you know, Insta is, I like the Insta, but it's just a

bit more expensive. It's expensive for what it is. I don't want, I haven't personally driven yet.

I just can't quite see the value of that car. Given you've got the GAC, ION UT, not far behind in

price. And obviously the Gila EX2 coming soon as well. So I would probably hold it off for now

in this category. Yeah. Yeah. Unless you really, really need the absolute smallest car right now,

try and hold off a couple of months until the EX2 comes out. We reckon that one's going to be a

winner. Having driven that in China, I think this is the one to look out for. So this one,

I won't say too much. I guess if you really can't wait, then I'd go the ION UT in this segment

at the moment. But if you want the just, you know, the cheapest car on the market,

I don't think you can go wrong with the other one either at the moment. Yeah. The ION UT,

I just want to quickly note too, we straddle this between the hatchback and small SUV segment

because it's sort of, it's borderline in size. Yeah. It's big for a hatchback, but it's small for

a small SUV. Next segment is the Dans. I won't speak too much because the Dans traditionally

don't sell too well in Australia. Having said that though, the Model 3 made the top four last month.

It's always going to sell well. The Tesla Model 3 is just a classic beautiful vehicle.

That's very versatile as well. And if you don't like the fact that the Model 3 has

screen or button-based turn signals, you can now get a retrofit stock, official

factory retrofit stock for the Model 3. Okay. So you can put that back on if you want.

Yeah. It's pretty, I don't know. I always thought that was a bit of a weird thing to not have

yeah, indicators. That's just like, yeah. I mean, for me, I think in this category,

I am by MG. Okay. Yeah. I am five. Okay. Yeah. For me, it's still the seal. I think the seal.

I've got a soft spot in my heart for that car. Yeah. I think that's probably, for me, the pick

anyway. Yeah. But in terms of like value for money, tech and inclusions, the I am five. Okay.

Fair enough. They're both good cars. Yeah. The EV4, we have driven that car. We didn't,

we got mixed reviews from, I'm sorry, mixed comments from our review. And I can see why.

The pricing is quite steep for the, for what you get on paper and also in terms of inclusions

and looks, obviously, subjective why some people don't like the look of this car and its front

wheel drive. So I don't know whether Kia being legacy is enough to pull this vehicle,

you know, out as a competitive car in this segment. I don't know. I guess we'll see.

Yeah. Yeah. It's asking a lot, I think. For what it is, it's the premium for this one. Again,

yeah, I don't know. I don't know. It's a tough one, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And then finally,

the six to seven seater, right? So this one is also still emerging, I think. I think just looking

at this category, it's going to be the model YL. I think that's going to just go gangbusters. It is,

but there's a caveat to that. It's like, do you want a six to seven seater that's going to be

carrying that amount of people all the time? Or is it just something that you want to occasionally

be able to have six people? Because I think that's, there's two very different use cases.

Yeah. I guess if it's just like a city runabout that you occasionally have to ferry people,

then yes, the model YL is no brainer. If you have lots of kids all the time or you travel

long distance all the time, then yes, there are others to look at, including the, what is it, the,

I think the denser D9 is going to sell well. That looks like pretty good value,

85 grand MSRP. The only nine is my personal favorite if price wasn't an option.

The interesting thing is that like, I'm looking at the length now and it's only a little bit

longer, isn't it? Than the Tesla YL, but it seems so much roomier. Because of the shape,

you've got that big boxy end. It's like a rectangle, isn't it?

In terms of comfort, I think the Ioniq 9 is certainly more comfortable than certainly the

Volvo EX90 and the Kia EV9. But again, if money wasn't a thing, if I didn't have to worry about

the price, then that's probably the one I would go for. And the EX90 didn't drive like a really,

like big unwieldy car. So that was a really lovely thing about that. And because it was all

wheel drive, it was, yeah, like it was really easy to maneuver. So you didn't feel like you were

driving like a minibus. Like you actually felt like you were driving like your normal standard

midsize SUV almost, but you could fit like everyone.

Yeah. Speaking of driving like a bus, the ID bus looks cool, fits lots of people,

lots of room as well, but it does drive like a bus.

And yeah, whoever draws the short straw of being in that like third row, they're in for a rough

ride. Especially the performance variant. Yeah, I reckon you could actually make a child develop

like, what's that word? Car sickness. Yes, travel sickness. Yeah, whereas the Model YL,

they've tuned the suspension software wise as well to make sure that third row is comfortable.

It was actually super impressive because it didn't, for me anyway, I couldn't notice any

difference driving it because there's two modes. There was like, I can't remember what they were

called. It was like balance and then there was a rear bias or something like that just to make

the rear comfort or something like that. Yeah. But as in there's basically, it's like driver

versus passenger. And honestly, I couldn't feel the difference when we put it for passenger comfort

rather than the fun for the driver mode. I'm not a good enough driver to be able to notice that

that much of a difference. So just always put it in passenger comfort mode. Make everyone happy.

So there you go. I think that's pretty much a summary of the different segments. We'll try to

do this each month if we can, just because EVs are pretty hot at the moment in terms of

getting into one and given the current economic climate. But hopefully enjoy that as part of the

recommendations, the comments section always steer people as well and steer us into which car,

well, to help us read the room as to which car is trending. And an actual owner experience as well

because we get these cars only for a couple of days or like a week. Whereas when you are using

it for a long period of time, then you really get to know the ins and outs of the car. Correct.

We can't cover everything in terms of long term ownership, details and issues. So make sure you

leave your comments below as to your own experiences or just own thoughts of these vehicles because

that will certainly help people getting into EVs for the first time. So if there are no final

thoughts, we should probably summarise and thank everyone for watching. I think so. But

basically if you can get into an EV, I think it's a bit of a no-brainer at the moment,

but it's just for the mid-size segment anyway. But I think for the small one, if you can hold

off a little bit longer, there may be more coming soon. Yeah, the hatchback ones, just stay tuned.

I can give it a few more months. Otherwise, from Joy myself, thank you for watching A Little

Cross Food. It's an exciting term to be an EV owner and EV commentator like us. So stay tuned.

We've got more exciting content coming up on the channel. Until next time, it's happy charging.

Australia EV Sales March 2026: 14.5% | April Market Recommendations

About this episode

EV sales have hit a record high in March 2026

100% battery electric vehicles

market share 14.5% of the market

sales means actual deliveries

Tesla Model

Audi S5

Chevrolet C10

crossover size

WLTP

Drive Away

front will drive

Massage seats

Better sound system

rear-wheel drive

floaty with the suspension

Kia EV5

legacy brand

price premium

joint ventures

all-wheel drive

Subaru Solterra

blade battery

air suspension

ground clearance

boot space

front wheel drive

retrofit

third row

Request an Explanation

Want to learn more?

Help improve this episode

More from Ludicrous Feed | EV Adoption in Australia