The Sedan Is Back — And Chinese Brands Are Leading the Charge

If you've been shopping for a sedan lately and felt like the market had left you behind, things are changing fast. A wave of electrified sedans — most of them Chinese-made or Chinese-influenced — is hitting Australian roads, and for Perth buyers tired of paying SUV money for SUV bulk, there's finally something worth looking at.

How Far the Sedan Has Fallen (And Why It Might Be Turning Around)

Ten years ago, the Toyota Camry was the fifth best-selling car in Australia. Today it sits at 35th. The Holden Commodore, once a fixture in every suburb from Balcatta to Baldivis, is gone entirely. In 2026, mid-size sedan sales nationally sit below 10,000 units — compared to nearly 100,000 mid-size SUVs already sold in the same period.

The Camry still owns roughly 70 per cent of the sedan-only segment, so it's not dead yet. But that dominance is being targeted directly by Chinese brands who've spotted an opening.

BYD has been the most aggressive. Its fully electric Seal has already carved out a solid share of the non-Camry, non-Tesla Model 3 sedan market. The newly launched plug-in hybrid Seal 6 starts from $34,990 — that's $5,000 less than the plug-less hybrid Camry — and it's larger. A bigger Seal 7 PHEV sedan has also been approved for Australian sale. For Perth commuters doing the daily grind on the freeway, the Seal 6's genuine electric-only range makes a lot of sense, especially with WA fuel prices doing what they do.

Geely is entering the mix in 2027 with its Emgrand sedan, launching initially as a plug-in hybrid with a possible petrol-only version to follow. MG has been pushing its MG5 and MG7 sedans with moderate results. And the China-built Tesla Model 3 remains one of the strongest-selling EVs in the country.

Legacy Brands Aren't Sitting Still Either

Mazda has launched its fully electric 6e sedan — based on the Deepal L07 platform — from $49,990 before on-roads. The initial pre-order allocation sold out quickly, which tells you there's real appetite for an electrified Mazda nameplate. The 6e matters for Mazda beyond just sales; the brand is under pressure to clean up its emissions average under Australia's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), and the 6e helps that cause significantly.

Kia and Hyundai are also still in the game. The K4 and i30 have been ticking along with steady registrations, and both are getting plugless hybrid variants that should boost their appeal further. The i30 hybrid starts from $33,250 — affordable, but the BYD Seal 6 undercuts it while offering more tech and PHEV capability.

What This Means If You're Buying in WA

For WA buyers, sedans have always made practical sense in Perth's flat, open urban layout — easier to park in the city, lower on-road costs, and for those not regularly heading into the bush, perfectly capable for everyday life. The trade-off used to be that you were stuck choosing between an ageing Camry or paying a premium for a Tesla. That's no longer the case.

The real question is whether all these new entries will simply divide a shrinking pool of sedan buyers, or whether the combination of lower prices and proper electrification will actually pull people back from SUVs. Given that the Seal 6 PHEV offers more car for less money than the Camry hybrid, and the Mazda 6e sold out its pre-orders fast, the early signs suggest some buyers are ready to make the switch.