The Volvo XC40 electric compact SUV topped EV sales in April in Australia, new EV sales data shows.
Following up on Wednesday’s report that Tesla was bumped off the top of the EV monthly sales list for the first time since the Model 3 arrived in late 2019, The Driven can now share complete sales data for the month.
Carmakers have shared data to fill gap in the Vfacts data that does not separate those models which have combustion engine equivalents. These include two Hyundai models, the Ioniq and Kona, the Kia e-Niro, the MG ZS EV, the Mini Cooper SE and the Volvo XC40 Pure Recharge.
Overwhelmingly, the trend is for models with either a compact SUV or fastback format.
The complete data shows that 122 pure electric XC40 SUVs sold in April, followed by 93 Polestar 2 fastbacks, and 90 Hyundai Kona Electrics.
Hyundai also sold 76 of its all-electric Ioniq fastbacks. Mini sold 69 Cooper SE hatchbacks, Mercedes-Benz sold 65 EQA SUVs and 38 EQC large SUVs, both Tesla and Kia sold 52 Model 3s and EV6s.
Further down the ladder were the Nissan Leaf and Kia Niro EV (34 sold), 30 Hyundai Ioniq 5, 19 Audi e-trons and 12 BMW i4.
Of course, numbers sold is not necessarily a true indicator of popularity. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 sell out within hours if not minutes whenever an allocation is opened for order. Polestar also reports similar demand, but has been able to secure more vehicles as it is an all-electric brand.
The other caveat is around Tesla sales. The EV maker typically ramps up deliveries at the end of the quarter. It has far outsold all other EV models to date in 2022 with 4,469 vehicles sold so far. That is more than half of the total EV sales in Australia, year-to-date, of 7,618 electric cars.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.