1. Tesla Model Y: 20,396 sales
The Model Y is still the car to beat, and by a comfortable margin. It recorded 20,396 registrations in the first half of 2026, close to double its result a year earlier, and it topped the overall new vehicle charts in both May and June, not just the electric category.
Its main advantage at finance time is that it’s been on Australian roads long enough for lenders and valuers to work from real resale data rather than an estimate. That usually makes it easier to structure with a balloon payment, and it tends to be the least contentious EV to put in front of a credit assessor.
2. BYD Sealion 7: 12,516 sales
The Sealion 7 sold 12,516 units in the first six months, more than three times its result a year earlier. It did most of the work in pushing BYD past Tesla as Australia’s top-selling EV brand across a half year for the first time, with 29,192 electric vehicles sold against Tesla’s 23,588. It’s a mid-size SUV competing directly with the Model Y, and priced closely enough to actually make it a contest.
The finance point here is about the brand rather than the car. Brand volume feeds into how a vehicle is valued down the track, because parts availability, dealer coverage and servicing all affect what a used buyer will pay in four years.
BYD has gone from challenger to one of the highest-volume brands in the country in a short space of time, which puts it in a very different position to a brand that sold a few hundred cars last year.
3. Geely EX5: 6,756 sales
The EX5 wasn’t in Australian showrooms this time last year. It’s since put 6,756 cars on the road in six months, a strong result for a brand most buyers hadn’t shortlisted before 2025. It’s a mid-size electric SUV pitched at the value end of the segment, competing for the same buyers as the Sealion 7 rather than the Model Y.
Finance gets more variable here. Lenders take their own view on how long a brand has been selling locally and how much data exists to value it later, and that view isn’t uniform across a panel. It can show up as a lower maximum loan-to-value ratio, a shorter available term, or tighter limits when the car is later sold as a used vehicle.
None of that makes the car hard to finance, but it does mean the rate you saw advertised may not be the rate that applies once the specific vehicle is on the application. Useful to know before you sign anything at a dealership.
4. Jaecoo J5: 5,930 sales
The J5 delivered 5,930 units in its first half of trading, arriving from Chery’s Jaecoo brand into the part of the market that has changed most over the past eighteen months. The under $45,000 electric segment barely existed in Australia two years ago. It now has real depth, and the J5 is one of several cars chasing a buyer who would previously have been looking at a petrol small SUV without considering an EV at all.
Cheaper cars change the shape of a loan more than most people expect. A smaller amount financed over the same term means a lower repayment, but fees and lender charges make up a bigger share of what you actually pay.
On a $40,000 loan, half a percentage point on the rate can be worth less than a few hundred dollars’ difference in an establishment fee, so it’s worth comparing on total cost rather than on the advertised rate.
5. Zeekr 7X: 5,532 sales
The 7X recorded 5,532 deliveries in the first half, and it’s the only car in this group sitting at the premium end. It’s a larger electric SUV positioned above the Sealion 7 and EX5, aimed at buyers who might otherwise be looking at established European marques, and another model that wasn’t available here twelve months ago.
It’s also the one on this list most likely to run into the $75,000 threshold, depending on variant and options. From 1 April 2027, the full FBT exemption on an electric vehicle provided through a novated lease applies only to cars valued at $75,000 or less. Above that figure, and below the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles, a reduced concession applies instead.
If you’re considering a higher-priced EV and your employer is willing to novate, the timing of that decision is worth thinking about now rather than next year.
Two things worth knowing before you finance any of them
Model churn can be overlooked
Three of the five cars above weren’t in Australian showrooms a year ago. That pace of change works in your favour while you’re buying, because it means more choice and sharper pricing. It works against you if you’re the one holding a large balloon payment in four or five years, trying to sell a car that has since been replaced by a newer version at a lower price.
So it’s worth thinking carefully about how much of the loan you push to the end. A balloon lowers your monthly repayment, which is the whole point of it, but it also turns the value of the car at the end of the term into your problem rather than an abstract question. In a segment moving this quickly, a smaller balloon costs more each month and leaves you with fewer surprises later.
The advertised rate and your rate are different things
Comparison rates in advertising are built on a standard example. What you’re actually offered depends on the vehicle, the term, your deposit, your credit profile and which lender the application goes to. On a car in a fast-moving segment those variables move around more than most people expect, and getting the structure right is usually worth more over the life of the loan than shaving a fraction off the headline rate.
Thinking about an EV?
If one of these cars is on your shortlist, or you’re weighing up a novated lease against a car loan ahead of the 2027 FBT change, it’s worth having a conversation before you’re sitting in a dealership finance office.
I can look at which lenders suit the vehicle you’re after, what a sensible balloon looks like for your circumstances, and what the loan actually costs in total rather than on paper. Get in touch and we’ll work through it.
