Tesla Model 3 numbers top 4,000 in Australia, more than S and X combined

There have now been more Model 3s produced for the Australian market than all Model S and Model X combined, in new figures shared with The Driven on Monday.

According to Twitter user “VedaPrime” who has been analysing shipping data as a service to waiting Tesla customers, there have been a total of 4,180 Tesla Model 3s made for the Australian market to date, and 818 made for New Zealand.

Electric car sales numbers tripled from 2018 to 2019, and the recent influx of Model 3s – an estimated 1,000 alone have arrived in the first months of 2020 – has brought the number of electric cars in Australia to nearly 18,000, including plug-in hybrids.

Figures gathered by Tesla Motor Club member Vostok from state registries show that at the end of 2019 there were 6,560 Tesla vehicles in Australia (numbers which also suggest the total figures for pure electric in Australia at that time totalled 10,949).

In 2019, there were 3,133 Model 3s made for Australia and 699 for New Zealand, and although not all may have been shipped to Australia by the end of 2019, this indicates that with the additional 1,000 or so Model 3s delivered since end 2019 the number of Model 3s is now greater than S and X combined.

This compares with 229 Model S and 273 Model X made for Australia for the whole of 2019, showing just how quickly the Model 3 – which is more affordable than its premium counterparts, starting from $A67,900 before on-roads – has taken hold in the local market.

Since its introduction in August 2019, the Model 3 has bucked the trend in the Australian auto market which is now in a 23-month decline in overall sales.

The slumping petrol car market market – along with an increased focus on climate change issues since the devastating summer fire crisis- are hopefully crystallising the need for government to help encourage the EV market to keep growing.

While the federal Coalition’s EV strategy is not expected until mid-2020, the NSW government has upped the ante with its new “Electric Vehicle Infrastructure and Model Availability Program” that looks to encourage carmakers to bring more electric models in locally.

Tesla has also started deliveries in the US of its latest “affordable” electric car, the Model Y SUV that some have called “perfect” but disappointingly for some will not come rated for towing. When it will be made available to order in Australia, and how much it will cost is yet to be seen.