Sales of small cars in Australia have persisted in their decline, despite an influx of new Chinese brand offerings entering the market.

This year saw the electric GAC Aion UT arrive locally, together with the updated MG 4 EV Urban that falls into the mainstream small car group under 45000 dollars in official industry data, while the prior MG 4 EV remains in the higher priced small car bracket.

July industry figures also recorded the initial deliveries of the electric Leapmotor B05, even as inventory of the electric GWM Ora hatchback ran low, though its Ora 5 small SUV successor may soon gain a lower hatch styled variant that could bring GWM back into this category.

Through July the under 45000 dollar small car group fell 10.5 per cent compared with last year to 29733 units, and the 45000 dollar plus small car group dropped 21.1 per cent to 8241 units.

Combined, small car sales are down 13.1 per cent for the year so far, with notable declines for established models such as the Hyundai i30 which fell 33.8 per cent to 4283 units, the Mazda 3 which reached 4578 units after a 28.9 per cent drop, and the Toyota Corolla which totaled 8505 units following a 24.9 per cent decrease.

Back in 2015 buyers in Australia purchased 233122 small cars across roughly 30 models, giving the segment a 20 per cent share of the overall market, yet volumes have fallen each year since except for a modest rise in 2024.

By 2020 the total reached 121118 small cars from about 25 models for a 13.2 per cent market share, while in 2025 just 72222 units were sold from around 20 models as the share slipped to 5.8 per cent.

Buyer preferences have clearly shifted elsewhere, with VFACTS data showing small SUV deliveries rising from 111275 units in 2015 to 115761 in 2020 along with 28780 light SUVs in a category added after 2015.

By 2025 small SUV sales had climbed to 202643 units together with 53292 light SUVs.

The era when SUVs typically featured four wheel drive or all wheel drive has passed, and even the notion of rugged capability has faded as seen with vehicles like the GAC Emzoom that offers front wheel drive only and sits between traditional SUV and hatchback territory.

Skoda ended sales of its underperforming Scala small hatch in Australia this year as customers favored the related but taller Kamiq small SUV instead.

The Cupra Born and Nissan Leaf electric hatchbacks were also withdrawn from Australia last year.

These exits follow earlier departures from the small car segment including the Holden Astra in 2019, Alfa Romeo Giulietta in 2020, BMW i3 and Lexus CT in 2021, Ford Focus Hyundai Ioniq and Toyota Prius in 2022, plus the Citroen C3 and Renault Megane in 2024.

Over the past five years new entries have come from Chinese brands including the BYD Dolphin GWM Ora MG 4 and MG 5 along with two European models the Cupra Leon and the now discontinued Cupra Born.

Additional models are planned, with the Leapmotor B05 already noted and Cherys Lepas brand preparing a small hatchback launch in 2027 while Cherys upcoming Q may also fit into the small car classification.