Hyundai Santa Fe crowned Chasing Cars’ 2025 Car of the Year
Amid an onslaught of competitors spread across myriad segments and drivetrains, Hyundai’s seven-seat superstar reigned supreme
Chasing Cars has crowned the Hyundai Santa Fe as its 2025 Car of the Year.
Hyundai’s latest family SUV emerged as the outright winner from a vast, eclectic field of vehicles comprising 35 different make-models – and a total of 50 variants – from 20 brands.
The Santa Fe was among the majority of contenders selected on merit as the most impressive vehicles to have been reviewed by Chasing Cars in the past 12-18 months.
Hyundai’s
There were also several ‘wildcards’ – vehicles so new that they had yet to be tested or even officially launched in Australia at the time.
Chasing Cars conducted its intensive Car of the Year test program over six days at a dedicated private facility, with the judging incorporating the following processes for every make-model:
- Interrogating price lists and features for value
- Inspecting interiors for quality, practicality and versatility
- Assessing ride comfort and driver-aid technology on public roads around regional NSW and Canberra
- Testing vehicle dynamics and vehicle performance at the Sutton Road Training Centre in the ACT
Aside from the overall winner, the Chasing Cars team also awarded six separate Best New Cars 2025 sub-awards.
Click the links and videos below to learn more about each of them.
Overall Car of the Year – Hyundai Santa Fe
Budget Car of the Year – MG3
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7505927378741366024?lang=vi-VN&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.chasingcars.com.au%2Fnews%2Fcar-industry%2Fhyundai-santa-fe-crowned-chasing-cars-2025-car-of-the-year%2F&embedFrom=oembed
Premium Small Car of the Year – Mini Aceman
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7505933260799905031?lang=vi-VN&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.chasingcars.com.au%2Fnews%2Fcar-industry%2Fhyundai-santa-fe-crowned-chasing-cars-2025-car-of-the-year%2F&embedFrom=oembed
Top 83 most popular EVs in Australia in 2024: best-selling electric vehicles
8 months ago
The best-selling electric vehicles in Australia, from the chart-topping Tesla Model Y to the least popular EVs on the market
Australians bought more electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024 than ever before, with 91,292 sales eclipsing the 2023 total (87,217) by 4.7 percent, in an overall market up by just 0.3 percent to a record 1,220,607 units.
The overall share of electric vehicles also increased to 7.5 percent of the total Australian market, up from 7.2 percent in 2023.
Tesla remained the dominant EV brand with 38,347 sales, despite a substantial 17 percent dip in that total compared to the previous year, with the Tesla Model Y (21,253) and Tesla Model 3 (17,094) again snaring first and second place on the sales podium.
With increasing competition in the medium electric SUV category, and with a significant mid-life facelift due in 2025, Tesla Model Y sales fell by 26 percent, though it remained well ahead of its nearest competitor – the BYD Atto 3 in fifth place overall (5751 sales).
The excellent MG 4 rounded out the top three EVs with a stellar performance – up 121 percent to 6934 sales, helped by some very sharp driveaway pricing deals throughout the year. Another notable effort was by the BYD Seal medium sedan, notching 6393 sales to finish in fourth place after launching late in 2023.
BYD finished the year with 14,260 electric-vehicle sales (up 14.6 percent), placing it comfortably in the number two position behind Tesla.
MG was the third most popular EV brand with 8239 sales, however the real surprise is BMW finishing in fourth place with 7787 sales – its best result since the premium German marque began selling EVs here in 2014.
All key electric BMW models increased significantly, helping EVs account for almost 30 percent of the brand’s 26,341 sales total. BMW’s top-selling iX1 made up 58 percent of total X1 sales, while the new iX2 snared a staggering 65 percent of total X2 sales. BMW also currently offers more EVs than any other brand in Australia, at 16 variants.
Another interesting model split concerned the game-changing Hyundai Ioniq 5 N performance EV.
While overall Ioniq 5 sales remained relatively static in 2024, this $110,000 flagship managed to account for 27 percent of the Ioniq 5 model mix (at 197 units), despite costing over $40,000 more than an entry-level Ioniq 5, and nearly $20K more than the next most expensive Ioniq 5 variant.
At the tail end of the sales tally were several just-launched EVs – namely the VW ID.Buzz, Mercedes-Benz G580 and Audi Q6 e-tron – as well as the final examples of the Mazda MX-30 Electric, a car that was discontinued in 2023.
Intriguingly, 19 buyers were able to stump up $770,000 (before on-road costs or options) for the Rolls-Royce Spectre coupe – Australia’s most expensive EV.
In order from best to worst, here’s the full sales chart of all 83 EVs available for sale in Australia in 2024, with their percentage increase or decrease in volume (where available) compared to 2023:
Here’s the same table with a numbered list from 1 to 83:
| # | Model | Segment | 2024 Deliveries | +/– (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | Medium SUV | 21,253 | – 26 |
| 2 | Tesla Model 3 | Medium | 17,094 | – 1 |
| 3 | MG 4 | Small | 6,934 | + 121 |
| 4 | BYD Seal | Medium | 6,393 | + 1357 |
| 5 | BYD Atto 3 | Medium SUV | 5,751 | – 48 |
| 6 | BMW iX1 | Small SUV | 2,618 | + 180 |
| 7 | Volvo EX30 | Small SUV | 2,129 | (–) |
| 8 | BYD Dolphin | Small | 2,116 | + 129 |
| 9 | BMW i4 | Medium | 2,062 | + 484 |
| 10 | Kia EV6 | Medium SUV | 1,785 | – 3 |
| 11 | Polestar 2 | Medium | 1,459 | – 41 |
| 12 | Hyundai Kona Electric | Small SUV | 1,363 | (–) |
| 13 | BMW iX2 | Small SUV | 1,280 | (–) |
| 14 | MG ZS EV | Small SUV | 1,262 | – 55 |
| 15 | GWM Ora | Small | 1,225 | + 133 |
| 16 | Volvo XC40/EX40 | Small SUV | 1,173 | – 59 |
| 17 | BMW iX3 | Medium SUV | 1,092 | + 41 |
| 18 | Mercedes-Benz EQA | Small SUV | 1,044 | – 13 |
| 19 | Toyota bZ4X | Medium SUV | 977 | (–) |
| 20 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | Medium SUV | 933 | – 1 |
| 21 | Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV | Large SUV | 759 | + 201 |
| 22 | Ford Mustang Mach-E | Medium SUV | 673 | + 1320 |
| 23 | Kia Niro EV | Small SUV | 649 | – 35 |
| 24 | Kia EV5 | Medium SUV | 608 | (–) |
| 25 | Kia EV9 | Upper Large SUV | 568 | + 173 |
| 26 | Volvo C40 | Small SUV | 560 | – 49 |
| 27 | BMW iX | Large SUV | 556 | – 32 |
| 28 | Mini Countryman E/SE | Small SUV | 518 | (–) |
| 29 | Mercedes-Benz EQB | Medium SUV | 504 | – 36 |
| 30 | Cupra Born | Small | 465 | – 48 |
| 31 | Mini Cooper E/SE | Small | 426 | (–) |
| 32 | Subaru Solterra | Medium SUV | 386 | (–) |
| 33 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | Medium | 374 | – 40 |
| 34 | Audi Q4 e-tron | Medium SUV | 357 | (–) |
| 35 | Nissan Leaf | Small | 357 | – 26 |
| 36 | Porsche Taycan | Large | 282 | – 47 |
| 37 | Renault Megane E-Tech | Small SUV | 266 | + 8867 |
| 38 | Lexus RZ | Medium SUV | 215 | – 19 |
| 39 | Peugeot e-2008 | Small SUV | 207 | (–) |
| 40 | Chery Omoda E5 | Small SUV | 197 | (–) |
| 41 | Mini Aceman | Light | 183 | (–) |
| 42 | Polestar 4 | Medium SUV | 183 | (–) |
| 43 | Audi Q8 e-tron | Large SUV | 174 | – 13 |
| 44 | Mercedes-Benz EQE | Large | 162 | – 63 |
| 45 | LDV eDeliver 7 | Vans (2.5-3.5t) | 150 | + 3750 |
| 46 | BMW i5 | Large | 143 | + 225 |
| 47 | Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV | Upper Large SUV | 136 | + 127 |
| 48 | Fiat 500e | Micro | 117 | (–) |
| 49 | Lexus UX 300e | Small SUV | 92 | – 19 |
| 50 | Peugeot e-Partner | Vans (<2.5t) | 92 | (–) |
| 51 | Audi e-tron GT | Large | 84 | – 75 |
| 52 | Jeep Avenger | Light SUV | 79 | (–) |
| 53 | Porsche Macan E | Medium SUV | 78 | (–) |
| 54 | Polestar 3 | Large SUV | 71 | (–) |
| 55 | Genesis GV60 | Small SUV | 70 | – 63 |
| 56 | Mercedes-Benz EQC | Medium SUV | 70 | – 78 |
| 57 | Ford E-Transit | Vans (3.5-8.0t) | 69 | (–) |
| 58 | Leapmotor C10 | Medium SUV | 64 | (–) |
| 59 | Renault Kangoo E-Tech | Vans (<2.5t) | 64 | (–) |
| 60 | Skoda Enyaq | Medium SUV | 48 | (–) |
| 61 | MG Cyberster | Sports | 43 | (–) |
| 62 | BMW i7 | Upper Large | 36 | – 43 |
| 63 | LDV eDeliver 9 | Vans (3.5-8.0t) | 28 | – 36 |
| 64 | LDV eT60 | Utes (4×2) | 28 | – 65 |
| 65 | LDV Mifa 9 | People Movers | 20 | + 67 |
| 66 | Mercedes-Benz EQS | Upper Large | 20 | – 70 |
| 67 | Rolls-Royce Spectre | Sports | 19 | (–) |
| 68 | Genesis GV70 Electrified | Medium SUV | 17 | (–) |
| 69 | Mercedes-Benz eVito | Vans (2.5-3.5t) | 15 | – 59 |
| 70 | Mercedes-Benz EQV | People Movers | 14 | + 27 |
| 71 | Jaguar I-Pace | Large SUV | 12 | – 66 |
| 72 | Lotus Eletre | Upper Large SUV | 12 | (–) |
| 73 | Mercedes eVito Tourer | People Movers | 10 | (–) |
| 74 | Peugeot e-Expert | Vans (2.5-3.5t) | 9 | (–) |
| 75 | Volkswagen ID.Buzz | People Movers | 8 | (–) |
| 76 | Mercedes-Benz eSprinter | Vans (3.5-8.0t) | 6 | (–) |
| 77 | Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo | Vans (2.5-3.5t) | 6 | (–) |
| 78 | Audi Q6 e-tron | Medium SUV | 5 | (–) |
| 79 | Lotus Emeya | Upper Large | 5 | (–) |
| 80 | Genesis G80 Electrified | Large | 4 | (–) |
| 81 | Mazda MX-30 Electric | Small SUV | 3 | – 77 |
| 82 | Peugeot e-308 | Small | 2 | (–) |
| 83 | Mercedes-Benz G580 | Upper Large SUV | 1 | (–) |
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