Tesla buyers snub performance and long range versions so they can pocket rebates

EV uptake in Australia has started to get some serious traction over the last 18 months with subsidies now on offer from many state and territory governments.

How exactly are subsidies working to increase Australian EV ownership?

We dive into the actual numbers of Tesla uptake in 2022 to see what impact the subsidies in states like Victoria had in shifting purchasing behaviour towards Tesla models that are eligible versus those that are not.

86% of Tesla Model 3 owners in Victoria received government subsidy

Victoria had over 1200 new Teslas get on their roads in the first 3 months of 2022 with new data from carloop showing that 86% of them were a RWD model which is eligible for the Victorian subsidy program.

This leaves 14% of the Tesla owners in Q1 2022 which purchased the dual-motor variants which are not eligible for the subsidy as they exceed the $68,740 limit.

Victoria announced their Victorian ZEV subsidy scheme early in 2021 after the Victorian government announced their target of having 50% of all vehicles to be electric by 2030 in a goal to reduce transport emissions.

Recent data from the ZEV subsidy program highlighted that 89% of all applications were for a Tesla since the program started.

EV subsidy sees over 20% rise in RWD model adoption in 2022

With the subsidy eligibility for owners limiting the uptake to a Tesla Model 3 RWD model, an analysis was done to break the ownership trends down further to see if there was an increase in RWD model uptake. It showed an increased shift of over 20% in Q1 2022 vs same time in 2021.

New Tesla Model 3 RWD ownership increased from 66% in the first 3 months of 2021 to the now subsidy eligible model’s 86% uptake during the same period in 2022.

Only 5% of Victorian owners bought the fastest Tesla Model 3

Another key takeaway from the Carloop data showed that only 5% of the total Tesla owners in Victoria during Q1 2022 took deliveries of the top of the range, Tesla Model 3 Performance model. This was up from 1% in the same period last year in 2021.

The drop in Tesla prices during July last year played a role in increasing the high performance uptake which obviously was not eligible under the $3,000 subsidy scheme.

Data shows that Australian EV range anxiety is reducing

Newly released data from carloop also shows that range anxiety might not be not as much of a barrier to new EV ownership as there has been in previous years. Tesla’s dedicated Model 3 Long Range model saw new ownership drop to 9% of all new owners in 2022 compared to the same time in 2021 where over 33% of new owners had this model delivered.

Another factor that also played a role was that Tesla increased the range on their Tesla Model 3 RWD model by 10% but at the same time decreasing the 0-100 time. So not only was the Model 3 RWD model eligible for the $3,000 subsidy but also had an additional 40kms of range. This meant fewer charging stops on road trips for many new EV owners in the state.

Lastly, Tesla also grew their supercharger network in Australia, along with other charging infrastructure operators which also helped reduce range anxiety amongst prospective EV owners, ultimately increasing uptake.

Predictions on EV uptake through government subsidies

Government subsidies in the states and territories that have them available have helped with the increase in EV uptake. Victoria saw its EV uptake and ownership more than double in Q1 of 2022 compared to 2021.

On top of that, prospective owners started to ditch the more expensive models toward those that were eligible for government subsidy. As shown by new data, this trend has been as high as 20% in Victorian Tesla ownership towards models that satisfy the subsidy requirements.

New carloop data shows that EV owners across Australia are shifting towards models that are eligible for EV government subsidies. The demand for EVs is increasing faster than the supply can keep up which is seen by the recent increase in Tesla Model 3 wait times that went up earlier this week, now up to 12 months for new orders in Australia.

This trend in EV uptake is set to continue and with states like Queensland coming to the party with subsidies in July this year that Tesla models won’t be eligible for, it could only be beneficial for increasing EV options available to prospective buyers and decarbonising transport in Australia.