Tesla and other EV makers are starting to see EV demand in many parts of Australia reach new highs in 2022. Fueled by petrol prices, major states on the east coast of Australia are driving a significant chunk of that.
But recent shipping and production delays have seen Tesla deliveries in less-populated states put on the back burner, until now.
New data reveals some of the more unique trends seen in South Australia and Tasmania.
Over 900 Teslas have hit South Australian roads
The data from carloop shows that as of April 2022, there are over 900 Teslas on South Australian roads. 920 Tesla owners around the state have so far taken deliveries of their vehicles since the arrival of the EV only brand into Australia less than 10 years ago.
The real shift has been in the last 12 months, with the Tesla fleet in the state almost doubling.
Meanwhile, recent data for the first 3 months of 2022 also showed a 120% increase in Tesla uptake in South Australia compared to the same time in 2021. This meant that Tesla uptake more than doubled.
Some of this increase in uptake has been driven by the drop in price in Tesla Model 3 prices during July last year along with the start of South Australia’s $3000 EV rebate which had its official launch late last year.
Delayed cars finally arrive in Tassie
Last month, The Driven reported on delayed Teslas that were bound for Tasmania. These have now arrived and 24 Tasmanian owners took deliveries of the new Tesla Model 3 in April 2022 after waiting several months since placing their orders in late 2021.
Shipping delays caused by floods in Brisbane saw incoming ships from Tesla’s Giga Shanghai plant unable to enter the port of Brisbane. More new Teslas ended up on Tasmanian roads in April than March this year which was not ideal for Tesla. The EV maker generally delivers cars in the same quarter of the year they are produced.
Although no Teslas were unloaded at Port of Brisbane, the delay impacted the timing into Port Kembla in NSW.
Tesla unloads Tasmanian-bound cars at Port Kembla and transports them via road freight to Melbourne. From there, Tesla ships them across to the Island state for owners to finally take their deliveries of their new EVs.
Predictions on South Australian and Tasmanian EV uptake
The year started off really well with recent EV uptake data in 2022 for South Australia & Tasmania, showing strong growth.
Things in Q2 are looking less rosy as Tesla Shanghai plant operates at the pandemic affected reduced production levels. This is a slightly bigger problem for new Tesla customers in states like Tasmania where deliveries can sometimes take longer. April deliveries in the state showed that trend.
Tesla’s Shanghai plant will also overcome the short term production issues to produce more than 2600 cars a day. That’s keeping in mind Tesla’s latest announcement to make Tesla Shanghai factory to be the “world’s largest automobile export hub”.
The second half of 2022 will see further growth as models from MG and BYD hit our shores. Along with the Model 3 as Tesla ramps up Shanghai again, this will see more EVs bound for Tasmania and South Australia later in 2022.
This along with the state subsidy programs will continue to fuel demand. This, at a time when petrol prices head back above $2.00 in many states and territories across the country.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data 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.