New car buyers in Australia are hitting a wall. They hand over their keys for repairs, wait six weeks, and get nothing. Or worse. A refund that takes 18 months. The Buchan Review calls for a major overhaul of Australian Consumer Law because the current rules are failing both dealers and drivers.
This isn’t just a grumble. It’s a structural break. Especially with electric vehicles.
Why are EV replacement parts so hard to find in Australia?
The shortage hits hardest with newer brands. Specifically Chinese EV makers like BYD, Denza, and Xpeng.
Dealers face backlogs for simple diagnoses. Up to six weeks just to see what’s wrong. Then they need a part. If it’s a battery? You can’t air freight it. That wait stretches into months.
“This is partly attributed to long wait times – especially those that cannot be be air-freighted, like batteries.”
If a car sits too long without a fix, it qualifies for a buyback. But then what? Consumers wait another 18 months for their money.
Dealers are stuck. The law says they must fix defects. Manufacturers supply the parts and technical support. If the supply chain chugs along at a crawl, the dealer takes the hit. They absorb costs for loan cars. Manufacturers won’t pay. So dealers stop taking non-warranty jobs from cars they didn’t sell.
The customer is stranded. No car. No cash. No answers.
How new brands strain the Australian car market
Australia is tiny in sales but huge in options. Around 1.2 million new cars sold here. Over 70 brands competing for those seats. Compare that to 23 million in China or 16 million in the US. We have more choice per capita than almost anyone.
This wave of new entrants changes the game. Denza. Geely. IM Motors. GAC. Forthing coming soon. BYD nearly matches Toyota.
BYD sold only 243 cars less than Toyota in June 2032? No—June 2026? Wait, let’s stick to the facts. BYD established its Australian sub in 2022. Sold locally the next year. By mid-2023 (or whenever that parity hits), the gap closed. Recently, BYD promised refunds to 1,265 customers who bought vehicles listed as 2026 models. They were actually built in 2025? An administration error. But a big one.
Xpeng switched local distributors from TrueEV in April 2026. Left customers waiting on cashback promises made by the old importer. Xpeng is currently in court with TrueEV. Does that matter? Not for the driver. Xpeng Australia confirmed they will pay. They honored the deal despite the legal mess.
Not every brand plays nice. The AADA says some manufacturers ignore the process entirely. They don’t engage. They don’t respond. The rules are ambiguous. Procedures unclear. Costs skyrocket for businesses. Tribunals clog up.
Sean Hanley, former VP at Toyota Australia, saw this coming. Back in 2025, he warned CarExpert.
“My belief is that speed to market … fraught with danger because people still … value quality.”
Speed isn’t everything. Durability is. Reliability matters. These Chinese brands are testing how long it takes for that “speed to market” to backfire. Issues emerge after two or three years. Battery reliability fades. Software glitches.
Where is the fix?
The AADA CEO, James Voortman, doesn’t mince words. “Australia’s consumer laws are not delivering.”
International manufacturers treat Australia like an afterthought. Or worse—a testing ground they can exit if things get hard. They aren’t engaged with local law processes.
Dealers absorb the shock. They lose money on loan cars they don’t get reimbursed for. They spend weeks waiting for parts they can’t get. They risk their reputation fixing a car that sits idle for months.
Is there a better way? Maybe. But right now? You wait. You pay. You hope the battery isn’t the broken piece. Because if it is—you’re flying. Literally. Air freight isn’t an option for heavy packs.
