The Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) wants the federal government to pause the entry of any new car brands into Australia, one of ten recommendations it has made as it warns the new-car retail industry has reached a "crisis point". The call follows a third-quarter 2026 result showing the industry's first negative quarterly profitability figure since the fourth quarter of 2008, during the Global Financial Crisis.
Sixty-six brands and counting
By CarExpert's count, 66 brands currently sell new passenger cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles in Australia, up from 50 in 2021. Of the brands that have arrived since then, only four (Cadillac, Cupra, GMC and Ineos) are not Chinese.
Australia is seen by Chinese automakers as an increasingly important market even though it is far from one of the world's largest, because demonstrating success here amid heavy competition can burnish a brand's reputation.
The pause is a blunt instrument, and the numbers explain why the dealer body has reached for it: the growth in brand count is concentrated in Chinese entrants, and each new brand adds another set of dealer negotiations, stock commitments and discount pressure to a retail network already running at a loss.
Nine other recommendations not yet detailed
The pause on new brands is one of ten recommendations the AADA has made. The available reporting names only the brand-entry pause; the remaining nine have not been detailed in the source material, so what else the association is asking of government and manufacturers has not been announced in the coverage available.
The federal government's response to the recommendations has likewise not been announced in the reporting available. The AADA has framed its case in a press release and commissioned analysis from Blue Flag, but no government position on the proposed pause has been stated.
