Tesla delivered 4,359 Model Y electric crossovers to Australian drivers in September as a “clear trend” towards EVs starts to ramp up.
In one fell swoop, it became the most popular SUV priced over $60,000, outselling its nearest competitor – the BMW X3 – more than tenfold.
For that matter, it was the most popular SUV across the board. Tesla sold almost twice as many Mazda CX-5s, as well as other popular favourites including the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Toyota Rav4 and the Kia Sportage.
| Total SUV Medium < $60K | Sales Volume SEP 2022 |
| Tesla Model Y | 4,359 |
| Mazda CX-5 | 2,439 |
| Mitsubishi Outlander | 1,879 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 1,856 |
| Kia Sportage | 1,775 |
| Hyundai Tucson | 1,579 |
| GWM Haval H6 | 1,294 |
| MG HS | 844 |
| Honda CR-V | 781 |
| Subaru Forester | 687 |
This put Tesla in third place among the biggest sellers of SUVs in Australia, beaten only by Toyota and Mazda.
| Carmaker | SUV Volume SEP 2022 |
| Mazda | 5,733 |
| Toyota | 5,667 |
| Tesla | 4,359 |
| Kia | 4,259 |
| Mitsubishi | 4,231 |
| Hyundai | 4,012 |
| Subaru | 2,454 |
| Volkswagen | 2,324 |
| GWM | 2,104 |
| MG | 1,838 |
The figures show a pent up demand for an SUV with zero tailpipe emissions, and that doesn’t cost the earth – both literally and figuratively – to run.
And it’s not a moment too soon. As recent figures from the National Transport Commission showed, Australia’s love of SUVs has obliterated any small gains made in the introduction of cleaner cars.
Record month for EV sales
The tide is beginning to turn – albeit slowly. And there is still plenty of opposition from carmakers – in particular Toyota – regarding a transition to clean electric cars.
But first, the figures. The latest figures from Vfacts showed on Wednesday that the month was a record for EV sales in Australia. In total, 7,247 EVs were sold to customers.
Not only was this a record month for EVs in Australia, but it also brought the year-to-date EV sales to more than 20,000 – 21,771 to be exact.
And two-thirds of these are Tesla electric cars. In total year-to-date, Tesla has delivered 8,647 Model 3s and 5,376 Model Y.
The latest figures also brought Australia’s EV fleet to more than 50,000 for the first time.
The Model Y’s introduction on the local market commenced in August, but Tesla was focussed on clearing out a backlog of Model 3 orders and just 1,000 or so Model Ys made it here in that month.
Complete EV sales numbers are yet to come in because some models share the same name as their ICE counterparts. However, it is thought that the next most popular contender is the Hyundai Kona EV or its Ioniq 5.
But the gap between Tesla and other carmakers is only continuing to expand.
Hyundai sold, or rather delivered, just 140 Ioniq 5s in September. It likely sold more Kona EVs based on sales figures from recent months, and The Driven has reached out to Hyundai for a breakdown of drivetrain figures.
The Driven can also confirm exact sales numbers for the Polestar 2 (85) Mercedes-Benz EQB (82), BMW iX (70), Kia EV6 (60), Volvo XC40 (49), Genesis GV60 (46), Porsche Taycan (27), BMW i4 (21), Nissan Leaf (16), Audi e-tron (13), and Mercedes-Benz EQS (11).
EVs now “clear market trend”
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) Tony Weber noted in a statement that while EV uptake remains low at 2.7%, “there is a clear market trend towards zero emission technology.”
Weber credited the federal government’s release of a discussion paper on a national electric vehicle strategy as a new positive driver.
But he also reiterated the FCAI position that it believes that “Any future policy and regulation needs to be developed within the context of vehicle price, model availability, and battery supply,” as well as “supported through the roll out of charging infrastructure and consumer incentives.”
“The policy objective is to lower emissions, and we look forward to offering practical guidance to Government on how to navigate this pathway.”
What that guidance will be, however, is the issue at hand. As the Sydney Morning Herald reported in August, the FCAI launched a secret strategy aimed at limiting the introduction of fuel emissions standards that would require carmakers to bring more EVs to Australia.
Much of the blame for this has been laid at the feet of Toyota. As it is the largest seller of cars in Australia it has considerable influence at the FCAI. Toyota is also at the bottom of the pile when it comes to global decarbonisation, having been highly criticised by Greenpeace.
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.