Australians bought 1,081,429 new cars and vehicles in 2022, but until now it’s been slightly tricky to determine exactly how many of those are hybrid, electric, or even plug-in hybrids.
As the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has historically reported Australian new-car sales by brand and model, it becomes hard to keep track of models that have multiple variants and powertrain types.
Australia’s most popular passenger car, the Toyota RAV4, for example, is clearly very popular as a hybrid, but the FCAI’s report of 34,845 sold in 2022 doesn’t break it down by petrol or hybrid.
Now the FCAI has released a report that breaks down how Australians bought electric and electrified cars in 2022, with a much more specific set of data.
We’ll leave full tables at the end of this page, but starting with the most popular electric cars of 2022, there aren’t too many surprises – the Tesla Model 3 (with 10,877 sales) and Model Y (8717 sales) ran away with first and second, leaving daylight to rivals like the BYD Atto 3 (2113) and the Polestar 2 (1524).
Hyundai took out sixth with the Kona EV (1096), eighth with the Ioniq 5 (756) and 10th with the now discontinued Ioniq (580).
Overall, Tesla Sold 19,594 electric cars in 2022, with Hyundai trailing far behind in second at 2432 sales, and BYD third with 2113.
While MG’s ZS EV (1119) was the fifth most popular electric car in 2022, the brand was much more successful by percentage when it comes to plug-in hybrids – its HS PHEV sold 1554 units in 2022, beating the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV (926) and Volvo XC60 PHEV (591).
MG sold 1554 plug-ins in 2022, followed by Mitsubishi (1229) and Volvo (1005).
But no brand dominated a drivetrain type more than Toyota in the traditional hybrid space. Of its 231,050 sales in 2022, 72,815 were hybrids. It beat all other hybrid-selling brands by tens of thousands, with second place technically being under its own umbrella, with Lexus taking the spot with 2968 hybrid sales.
The RAV4 (26,547), Corolla (17,585), and Kluger (8413) took the podium, while Camry, Yaris Cross, C-HR, and Corolla Cross followed. The Lexus NX350h is eighth with 1389 sales, while the GWM Haval H6 Hybrid and Subaru Forester rounded out the top 10.
Top 10 electric cars of 2022
| Model | Sales in 2022 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 10877 |
| Tesla Model Y | 8717 |
| BYD Atto 3 | 2113 |
| Polestar 2 | 1524 |
| MG ZS EV | 1119 |
| Hyundai Kona | 1096 |
| Volvo XC40 | 983 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 756 |
| BMW iX3 | 593 |
| Hyundai Ioniq | 580 |
Top 10 hybrid cars of 2022
| Model | Sales in 2022 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 26547 |
| Corolla | 17585 |
| Kluger | 8413 |
| Camry | 7654 |
| Yaris Cross | 6394 |
| C-HR | 3517 |
| Corolla Cross | 1984 |
| Lexus NX350h | 1389 |
| Haval H6 | 1194 |
| Subaru Forester | 882 |
Top 10 plug-in hybrid cars of 2022
| Model | Sales in 2022 |
| MG HS PHEV | 1554 |
| Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV | 926 |
| Volvo XC60 | 591 |
| Mercedes GLC300e | 363 |
| Mitsubishi Outlander | 303 |
| Volvo XC90 | 267 |
| BMW X3 xDrive30e | 230 |
| Lexus NX450h | 230 |
| Mini Cooper PHEV | 189 |
| BMW X5 xDrive 45e | 176 |
Top 10 electric car brands of 2022
| Brand | Sales in 2022 |
| Tesla | 19594 |
| Hyundai | 2432 |
| BYD | 2113 |
| Polestar | 1524 |
| Volvo | 1474 |
| BMW | 1293 |
| Mercedes | 1153 |
| MG | 1119 |
| Kia | 949 |
| Mini | 455 |
Top 8 hybrid car brands of 2022
| Brand | Sales in 2022 |
| Toyota | 72815 |
| Lexus | 2968 |
| GWM | 1952 |
| Subaru | 1567 |
| Kia | 1276 |
| Honda | 537 |
| Hyundai | 375 |
| Maserati | 183 |
Top 10 plug-in hybrid car brands of 2022
| Brand | Sales in 2022 |
| MG | 1554 |
| Mitsubishi | 1229 |
| Volvo | 1005 |
| BMW | 577 |
| Mercedes | 421 |
| Lexus | 230 |
| Mini | 189 |
| Porsche | 159 |
| Ford | 139 |
| Kia | 126 |
Keyword: What are the most popular electric and hybrid cars and brands? Industry report reveals top sellers for 2022, including Tesla Model 3 and Toyota RAV4 Hybrid