Tesla is by far the most popular EV manufacturer in Australia.
Tesla has significantly increased its customer base and EV fleet in the last year, adding nearly 23,000 vehicles to our market. This accounts for approximately two-thirds of total sales.
Since the beginning of 2022, Tesla has sold 22,907 electric vehicles. The Model 3, Australia’s best-selling EV sedan, surpassed the long-running Toyota Camry ICE vehicle in 2022 and accounted for 13,804.
The remaining 9,103 sales went to the extremely popular Tesla Model Y, which will only be available in our market in June 2022.
For three months in 2022, the Model Y outsold the Model 3 before dropping back recently as Tesla caught up with some long-standing Model 3 orders.
In August last year, the first significant client deliveries of 1,107 electric SUVs arrived on our shores.
Looking deeper into the sales figures, the second half of 2022 saw almost no deliveries from Tesla, affecting EV sales in Australia overall. Every one of those months, EV sales were around 1,000 vehicles.
Tesla was then capable of producing vehicles as Covid-related shutdowns were lifted and restrictions for factory workers in Shanghai were relaxed.
Tesla also took advantage of the opportunity in the initial half of June to release its Model Y in Australia, sending a small number of vehicles. The first of which was noticed on June 10th in Melbourne.
That marked the start of the sales-heavy second quarter of 2022, which saw the arrival of thousands more Teslas on our shores.
Pent-up Demand and Rising Fuel Prices
With both models anticipated to be available in the second quarter of 2022 and fuel prices in Australia remaining high, many ICE vehicle owners were eager to make the change to their first EV.
With the Tesla Model 3’s extended delivery times earlier this year, many existing Model 3 customers were eager to upgrade to the Model Y.
The Model Y’s estimated delivery date was much shorter, which resulted in many more sales for the larger family-friendly electric SUV. In total, Tesla sold 8,717 Model Ys in the final five months of 2022.
Tesla and EV adoption soars
With only the first month of 2023 behind us, Tesla has already sold 3,313 EVs, with the Tesla Model 3 accounting for more than 80% of them.
As a result, Tesla EV began the year by selling 2,927 Tesla Model 3 sedans across the country. According to the most recent Tesla trends from car loop, many of the vehicles supplied in January were orders from as far back as March 2022.
That’s nearly a year’s worth of built-up demand, helping Tesla get off to a strong start in 2023.
With Tesla cutting prices on all EV models in Australia to begin 2023, it will only guarantee that demand for its EVs in Australia remains high.
