Real cause why unsold Chinese electrical autos are piling up in automotive parks – and the flaw it exposes with Albanese authorities’s coverage

A Chinese car manufacturer is importing more electric vehicles to Australia than are being sold to take advantage of an Albanese government policy.  

EV giant Build Your Dreams has turned vacant lots into temporary storage facilities for some of the 51,000 vehicles it has imported to Australia in the last 12 months.

The manufacturer used Jamberoo Action Park copy on the NSW South Coast as a ‘pre-delivery’ site to store more than 1,600 imported EVs before Kiama Council recently put a end to those plans.

Images of hundreds more BYD vehicles have emerged in another private storage yard in Kilsyth in Melbourne‘s east.

The excess in imported EVs has allowed the manufacturer to stockpile lucrative carbon credits under the Albanese government’s new vehicle efficiency standards.

Of the 51,000 vehicles BYD imported to Australia in the 12 months to September, almost 38,000 were sold, according to Register of Approved Vehicles figures.

Discrepancies between import and sales figures of its EV rivals such as Tesla, Toyota, Ford, and MG was much smaller.

BYD import figures expose the flaws of the government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard scheme, which awards car makers with credits on the number of vehicles they import rather than sales volume, sparking calls for change.

Some of the 51,000 EVs imported to Australia by Build Your Dreams are being stored in vacant lots, such as this one in Kilsyth in Melbourne’s east (pictured)

A Google Earth image captured in August captured hundreds of EVs imported from China being stored at Jamberoo Action Park without approval

The scheme aims to encourage car makers to meet strict emissions targets or face penalties of up to $100 per gram of carbon for each vehicle that exceeds the target.

Those that undershoot targets are rewarded with carbon credits and favours EV brands, such as BYD, whose EV or plug-in hybrid cars emit zero or next-to-no carbon emissions.

Australian Automotive Dealer Association James Voortman has called for carbon credits at a vehicle’s point of sale rather than import.

‘Shifting the point of compliance from import to sale or registration would minimise the risk of dealers being burdened with excess stock,’ Voortman told the Australian Financial Review.

‘This change will also better reflect the intent of the NVES, which is for more fuel-efficient vehicles to be purchased by customers.’

The government has vowed to consider implementing a point-of-sales system as part of it review of the scheme next year.

BYD insists that its import numbers are due to growing demands for EVs, citing 150 per cent rise in sales. 

‘Thanks to careful planning and a robust supply chain, BYD has built its vehicle inventory to accommodate the further rapid growth forecast for 2026,’ the company told the publication.

More than 1600 BYD vehicles have been removed from Jamberoo Action Park after a DA was recently rejected by Kiama Council

‘This will ensure Australian customers can continue to drive away in their new BYD vehicles as quickly as possible.’ 

Jamberoo Action Park management took a swipe at the recent council decision in a lengthy statement.

‘If you can’t store cars in a carpark without impact to anyone, then something in the planning system clearly isn’t working,’ the statement read.

‘We should be looking for opportunities for businesses to invest and diversify, not taking them away unnecessarily.’

The water park added BYD was forced to scale back operations as a result.

‘At a time when government policy is actively encouraging the adoption of EVs, society must be able to accommodate that shift in a practical way,’ management continued.

‘In addition to the impact on the car carrier business, there is a direct economic impact for all businesses involved and the local community.

‘We’ll continue to engage respectfully and transparently, but we stand by our belief that this was a practical, low-impact use of existing infrastructure that should never have been knocked back.’

EVs accounted for more than 12 per cent of new cars purchased in the first half of 2025, expanding Australia’s fleet to more than 410,000 vehicles.

More than three-quarters of EVs purchased in Australia this year were made in China.