EV sales in Australia took off in 2021. Most major states and territories saw a sharp EV uptake compared to 2021 and new Tesla ownership in South Australia during the same period was no different. EV uptake there nudged even our most populated state of NSW.
In a year that was plagued with lockdowns across Australia, South Australia seemed to buck the trend and showed real growth in new Teslas – 250% in 2021, exceeding expectations and the average state by state Tesla uptake figures. So what caused this uptake in South Australia to buck the trend across Australia in Tesla uptake?
South Australian Tesla uptake exceeds 250%
In South Australia, Carloop did an analysis of over 527 new Teslas that ended up on the roads which told an interesting story. 117 new owners purchased their Tesla in 2020 which shot up to 410 new Teslas on South Australian roads in 2021.
That’s an increase of over 250%. Comparing this uptake to the national Tesla uptake average in 2021, which was 219%.
The third quarter of 2021 saw more Teslas arrive in SA than any previous quarter
Diving a bit more into the 2021 breakdown of these 410 new Teslas, I discovered a similar ownership trend to Queensland where quarter 3 of 2021 saw the highest number of Teslas ending up in the hands of their new owners in South Australia. Over 38% of all Teslas in 2021 got on the SA roads in quarter 3.
The top takeaway from this is that price drops across the Model 3 range mid-way through 2021 had a big impact on the uptake in South Australia.
SA’s EV Leap: Lower lockdowns & Tesla wait times
In 2021, South Australia saw fewer lockdowns than other states on the eastern seaboard. This helped with greater confidence for more South Australians to consider an EV compared to 2020.
Another factor that also played a role in this is the availability of additional supply of Model 3s that arrived in Australia in August in anticipation of NSW grants. The initial uptake in NSW was lower than expected in quarter 3 due to the state going through its own round of lockdowns.
This led to much lower wait times for new owners in South Australia with some owners getting their new cars in under 4 weeks from ordering. Comparing that to some ICE cars which had delays of up to 6 months for similarly sized popular models like the Toyota Corolla hybrid sedan.
The shorter wait times meant that there were many happy new Tesla Model 3 owners in South Australia in 2021.
South Australia Tesla sales predictions for 2022
With over 410 new Tesla owners in 2021, it has shown that many more South Australians are ready to take the leap to an EV. This trend will continue especially after the generous subsidy program that kicked off in the last quarter of 2021. This would further increase the uptake. In 2022, we predict over 670 new Teslas to be on South Australian roads. That’s a 64% increase on the 2021 sales.
The orders placed in the last quarter of 2021 that took advantage of the $3,000 subsidy and the recent registration free period in South Australia will also encourage uptake in the state.
Apart from the subsidy program mentioned above, the launch of the new Model Y for the Australian market is hoped for around the second quarter in 2022 in which case it’s possible we’ll see third quarter deliveries to Australia.
Another factor that would be at play here is the upcoming SA election this year. The state Labor party has committed to repealing the EV road user charge tax if they win the election in 2022. This would also increase interest in EVs in the state and get more South Australians behind the wheel (or Yoke for South Australians that order a 2022 Model S) of a new Tesla.
2022 predictions of 64% is on the consertive end as the supply of Tesla into Australia is being pushed out to nearly 7 months for new orders of the Model 3 which would be one of the only models that would be eligible for the SA subsidy mentioned above.
With strong Tesla uptake in 2021 in South Australia, 2022 is looking to be a very exciting year for EV ownership in the state.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.