Tesla Model 3 deliveries tail off sharply in New Zealand in October

Deliveries of the top-selling Tesla Model 3 electric sedans tailed off sharply in the month of New Zealand after frenetic activity in the previous two months.

New data released by the NZ Ministry of Transport shows that just 79 Model 3s were delivered in New Zealand in October, down from the 419 that were delivered from late August, when the first Model 3s arrived, through to the end of September.

The figures for New Zealand are likely a pointer to Australia, whose department of Transport does not track sales in detail but where anecdotal evidence points to a similar drop-off in deliveries. Which will be frustrating for those told they have to wait until the New Year to pick up their orders.

Despite the downturn, which might have been expected as Tesla did its usual end-of-quarter ramp up of sales and deliveries (to great effect considering its surprisingly good results), the Model 3 still managed to outsell all other new electric car sales in New Zealand by a factor of nearly two to one.

Just 48 other new pure electric cars were delivered in the month, with the Hyundai Ioniq leading the also-rans with 13, followed by the Audi E-Tron (8), the Nissan Leaf and Jaguar I-Pace (seven each), the Tesla Model X (6) and the VW E-Golf (4).

The Tesla Model S and the Hyundai Kona recorded just one delivery each in the month.

New Zealand’s EV sales are dominated by second hand pure electrics, with 276 delivered in the latest month, nearly all of them Nissan Leafs (256), while the new plug in hybrid market recorded sales of 79, with the Mitsubishi Outlander and Toyota Prius leading the way, as they did in the second hand plug in hybrids, which totaled 52.