Australia’s new?car market hit a brand new report of 1,241,037 gross sales in 2025, however behind the breakdown of combustion-powered, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electrical automobiles, there may be information that exhibits which purchaser group was most drawn to which car sort.
At a excessive degree, patrons are splitting into 4 distinct camps: battery-electric autos (EVs), plug?in hybrids (PHEVs), hybrids (HEVs)and the still-dominant world of petrol- and diesel-powered autos – together with mild-hybrids (MHEVs).
Based mostly on 2025 quantity, that appears like:
- EVs: 103,270 gross sales (8.3 per cent of the market) – together with simply two hydrogen fuel-cell electrical autos (FCEVs)
- PHEVs: 53,484 gross sales (4.3 per cent) – together with a small slice of prolonged?vary electrical autos (EREVs)
- Hybrids (no?plug): 199,133 gross sales (16.0 per cent) – typical hybrids plus self-charging methods like Nissan e?Energy
- Combustion (petrol/diesel, together with MHEVs): 884,944 gross sales (71.3 per cent)
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The numbers present EVs are actually a significant a part of the market however they’re nonetheless largely a personal and enterprise buy, not a rental one.
PHEVs are much more personal purchaser?led, and rental fleets have barely touched them.
Common hybrids are not a distinct segment ‘electrified’ footnote, thanks largely to Toyota. They’re a mainstream chunk of the market and, importantly, they’ve a a lot more healthy rental market presence than EVs or PHEVs, suggesting they’ve turn out to be the low?danger gasoline?saving possibility for fleets.
In the meantime, combustion autos (petrol/diesel plus mild-hybrids) stay the default alternative throughout each purchaser group just because they nonetheless account for greater than seven in each 10 new autos bought.
EVs
In 2025, Australians purchased 103,270 battery-electric autos, accounting for round 8.3 per cent of the entire market.

EVs had been pushed primarily by personal patrons, however enterprise remained a serious contributor aside from rental firms which had been barely concerned.
Throughout EV gross sales the place purchaser sort could possibly be cut up cleanly, EVs had been 66.2 per cent personal and 31.1 per cent enterprise.
That’s a really completely different profile to traditional petrol/diesel autos, for which rental patrons signify a way more significant slice of demand.
PHEVs
In 2025, 53,484 plug?in hybrids had been bought – 4.3 per cent of the entire market – making them probably the most personal purchaser?led of the key powertrain classes.

The plug?in hybrid cut up is as follows:
- Personal patrons: 34,758 (65.3 per cent)
- Enterprise: 17,652 (33.1 per cent)
- Authorities: 664 (1.2 per cent)
- Rental: 175 (0.3 per cent)
Hybrids
Hybrids (totalling 199,133) have turn out to be a mainstream a part of what Australians are shopping for, they usually’re additionally shaping fleet behaviour.

The hybrid cut up by purchaser sort appears to be like like this:
- Personal: 115,588 (58.0 per cent)
- Enterprise: 59,549 (29.9 per cent)
- Authorities: 7,575 (3.8 per cent)
- Rental: 16,421 (8.2 per cent)
Typical hybrids had the best rental share of the three “no?plug” sub-categories (petrol/diesel-only, mild-hybrids, and traditional hybrids). Leases accounted for 16,157 hybrid gross sales in 2025 – 8.3 per cent of all hybrids – in comparison with 6.4 per cent of petrol/diesel-only autos and three.2 per cent of mild-hybrids.
That implies hybrids have turn out to be the “low?danger electrification” possibility for fleets that need higher gasoline economic system with out altering refuelling habits or charging infrastructure.
Petrol and diesel
If we mix petrol/diesel autos and mild-hybrids (which incorporates members of the Toyota HiLux, Mazda CX-80 and Suzuki Swift lineups), that tallies as much as 884,944 gross sales in 2025 – 71.3 per cent of your entire market.

Of this, mild-hybrids accounted for 94,642 gross sales.
The general combustion (plus gentle hybrid) bucket splits by purchaser sort as follows:
- Personal: 408,938 (46.2 per cent)
- Enterprise: 398,591 (45.0 per cent)
- Authorities: 24,024 (2.7 per cent)
- Rental: 53,391 (6.0 per cent)
It’s a way more balanced image than EVs or plug?in hybrids. Personal patrons nonetheless lead, however enterprise is shut behind, and rental stays a significant a part of demand.
General, it seems that whereas EVs are rising, they’re largely being purchased by personal prospects and companies (which we’d hazard a guess consists of small-business ABN holders) however not rental businesses.
Plug?in hybrids have turn out to be a serious second wave, much more private-led than EVs, and virtually fully absent from rental fleets. And whereas petrol and diesel autos nonetheless dominate when it comes to quantity, hybrids – particularly typical hybrids – are actually a core a part of Australia’s ‘combustion-era’ market, together with a significant slice of fleet demand.
