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Many familiar vehicles have adopted mild-hybrid systems, but aside from the Toyota Prado and HiLux, it remained a niche technology in 2025.
The Toyota Prado and Toyota HiLux accounted for nearly 50 per cent of sales of 'mild-hybrid' vehicles in Australia last year – a term the brand does not use to avoid confusion with its 'full' hybrid cars.
In Australia, Toyota leads in sales of cars with 'mild-hybrid' systems, which offer modest fuel savings and cannot drive the vehicle on electric power alone, unlike hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
There is no data available for 2024 or earlier, as the FCAI's VFACTS only began reporting mild-hybrid vehicle sales at the start of 2025, and they were previously included in petrol and diesel sales.
The figures do not include full hybrid vehicles, such as the Toyota RAV4 and hybrid versions of the Hyundai Santa Fe, or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) including the BYD Shark 6 and BYD Sealion 6.
Toyota's Prado was the best-selling mild-hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) in Australia with 26,106 examples reported as sold, while the HiLux ranked second with 17,659 MHEV sales, 34.4 per cent of its 51,297 total.
Most Mercedes-Benz GLCs sold in Australia last year were electrified, with the majority being mild-hybrid (5174), followed by the GLC350e and AMG GLC63 S E-Performance plug-in hybrids (579).
The Mazda CX-60 ranked fourth in Australian mild-hybrid sales last year, with 4023 – 2941 'G40e' inline six petrols and 1082 'D50e' inline six diesels – reported as sold from a total of 5410.
Mild-hybrid systems remain skewed toward European vehicles, with the BMW X5 (3332), Land Rover Defender (3319), BMW X3 (3280) and Audi Q5 (3185) ranking in the Top 10.
Australia's most-affordable mild-hybrid vehicle, the Suzuki Swift hatchback, recorded 2937 sales from a total of 3446, while 74.8 per cent of Mazda CX-80 sales were mild-hybrid petrol and diesel (2880).
Mercedes-Benz followed with 13,592 sales, then BMW with 8559, due to 48-volt mild-hybrid systems being fitted to most of their new vehicles.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
