While the US and EU are putting up barriers to Chinese cars, Australians are buying them at record levels

Australia’s roads have long been dominated by the auto giants of Japan, Germany and the United States but China is fast earning its spot in the garage of glory. This year, vehicles from China became the third most popular choice for new car sales in Australia, knocking South Korea — the home of Kia and Hyundai — down to fourth place, and rapidly gaining ground on manufacturing leaders Thailand and Japan. The rise of Chinese cars in Australia has been meteoric, jumping from 4,154 sales in 2014 to 193,433 last year. And it’s likely to keep growing, with models from…