The Tesla Model Y dominates the latest month of electric vehicle sales in Australia, accounting for more than half of the 2,098 full battery electric vehicles sold in the month of October.
Interest continues to grow in EVs, but supply remains a problem.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) said “electrified” vehicles account for more than 10 per cent of the 87,299 vehicles sold in October, but most of these are mild hybrids and battery electric account for just 2.4 per cent – way below the global average.
“Globally, car manufacturers have been heavily impacted by the Covid 19 pandemic,” Tony Webber, the FACI CEO said in a statement. “This October figure is a positive sign that supply chains are recovering and consistency is returning to the marketplace, but we still have some way to go before it returns to normal”
Webber also touched on the impact of new policies on the vehicle industry more broadly:
“It is important to note the continuing, strong preference for SUV and Light Commercial vehicles in Australia.
“Consumer preference for these vehicles needs to be considered when charting any policy designed to increase the uptake of zero emission vehicles. This is particularly critical given the low availability and high price points of zero and low emission models in these segments.”
The data shows that Tesla dominated sales once again, accounting for 1,109 EVs, almost all of them the popular new crossover, the Model Y.
Not included in the data are sales from China’s BYD, which has started deliveries of its Atto 3 electric SUV. The Driven understands that had they been included, it would have put BYD as the second most popular brand in the country.
See our story here: BYD leaps rivals to become Australia’s second best selling EV brand in October
As it is, it is Polestar that regains second place according to the official data.
Tesla once again leads the EV market
Tesla’s October sales were down from September’s bumper month of 5,969 sales but like last month, it wasn’t Australia’s best-selling EV from 2021 that topped the EV sales in Australia. It was their newest EV, the Tesla Model Y that led the EV sales in Australia.
Out of the 1,109 sales, Tesla Model Y accounted for 1,076 of them. Only 33 Tesla Model 3s were delivered to customers. Some of who have been waiting since February to receive their EV sedan.
And, even more interestingly, as we report here, some of the biggest buyers of Tesla cars were in the Sydney’s western suburbs, not the inner city, latte sipping elite often blamed for the Tesla boom.
Some cars such as the MG ZS EV and others have not been included in the chart above as they are not easily separated from the petrol version in the FCAI data. These will be included as soon as we receive them.
Polestar 2 finally sees a resurgence, 189% rise
After many months of slower delivery numbers, Polestar saw a resurgence and delivered 246 new EVs to Australian order holders. That’s a month-on-month increase of 189% for the brand.
There seem to be more regular deliveries from the brand which is great news for many excited Polestar 2 customers.
With many more ships carting EVs on the way to Australia, the national EV fleet is destined to surpass 65,000 before the end of the year.
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.