There are a lot of choices in China's car market, and nearly every one of them is desperately seeking a new home in some export market. Brands like BYD or Xiaomi may have strong sales and profitability at home, but that's the exception, not the rule. There are dozens of smaller players with big dreams and goals of seeing global domination outside of China, since, well, they just can't generate the local volume needed to hit profitability.

Often, these cars from lesser-known companies rely on exports to turn around dire profitability and sinking sales trends in their home country. Just look at Neta, a Chinese brand that has faced falling sales and financial woes in China as of late. It has hoped to find success by pivoting to markets like Thailand and Brazil. But the cars themselves don't seem like they're as good as ones from bigger brands with more money, like Geely or BYD, nor do they have the same after-sales support.

As Canada gets access to Chinese cars, I can't help but wonder: Which brands come through first? And if they all run through the door at once, which ones actually pull this off?

If you go down under to Australia, you could start to see an answer. 

Chinese auto brands have made serious inroads into Australia in recent years, filling a vacuum as Ford and General Motors have given up on local production. "The market share of Chinese brands in Australia is around 17% now, versus 1.7% in 2019. This is [tenfold] growth since COVID, in other words," said Mike Costello, an analyst with Cox Automotive Australia and New Zealand. 

Both countries are developed but sparsely populated, with similar colonial histories and a similar size on the global stage. Canada is the bigger country economically and by population, with the larger car market to boot. Over 1.8 million cars were sold in Canada last year, compared to 1.2 million in Australia.

Geographically and geopolitically, Australia is inherently closer to China. Chinese brands have been on the continent since at least the late 2000s, with Great Wall Motors launching in 2009, and later Chery in 2011. Chery exited Australia in 2015, partially due to poor quality and crash safety ratings, but would later re-enter in 2023 with significantly improved vehicles amid a growing desire for both affordable cars and electrified ones.

Now, that 17% does include the wide range of pure gas-powered and hybrid models sold from brands like Chery or Great Wall Motors. Yet, when we focus on EVs, it's clear that Chinese contenders have huge appeal for Australians. 

A full 77% of all EVs sold in Australia in 2025 were made in China—even ones from non-Chinese brands. Costello says that 41% of Australia's EV market is held by 22 Chinese brands selling over 30 different individual models.

When it comes to plug-in hybrid models, BYD takes the lion's share with 68% of all models sold there.  As a whole, Australia's EV market is about 8.6% of its total market, about the same as the U.S. But while the total American market is about 15 times larger, it has significantly fewer brands to choose from.