Image: Riz Akhtar
Electric vehicle sales in Australia have taken off in the first three months of 2024, with over 25,000 battery electric vehicles (BEV) sold in the market – a 46 per cent jump from the strong growth of 2023.
Even though Australia’s share of EV sales (compared to the whole market) remains well behind most other countries with a share of nearly 10 per cent, the rate of growth is quicker than most, as highlighted by new data from individual manufacturers that has been shared on X by EV and Tesla enthusiast Sawyer Merritt.
Sales of 12 manufacturers were compiled for the first quarter and it highlights Tesla leads the way in the total number of sold EVs, even though its global numbers were down year on year.
Tesla accounted for 386,783 sales ,which was ahead of BYD’s 302,459 sales (a rise of 13 per cent).
Both these brands also make up a significant portion of the EV sales in Australia, and accounted for 17,270 vehicles or 68% of all Australian EV sales in the first quarter of the year. Tesla sales in the first quarter were up 23 per cent in 2024 over the previous year.
Globally, the main constraint for Tesla had been the slower-than-expected ramp-up of production of the refreshed Model 3 in the US, along with a prolonged shutdown at its Berlin factory due to vandalism of electrical infrastructure to the factory.
BYD did see a growth in total EVs sold. A major part of its total 626,263 sales remained plug-in-hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and EVs made less than half of its total sales.
The Volkswagen group, which currently only sells one EV in Australia, the Cupra Born electric hatchback, held the third spot globally with 136,400 sales, a fall of 4 per cent.
BMW Group also saw a strong growth in sales with 82,700 EVs which was up 28% over the same time last year. The two big improvers globally, albeit off a low base, were Ford and Rivian.
Other notable brands included Mercedes-Benz, Polestar and Toyota which made up 47,500, 7,200 and 3,500 sales respectively. Both Mercedes-Benz and Polestar were down in year-on-year sales, while Toyota saw a rise due to low sales in 2023.
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.
Tesla has long been Australia’s most popular EV brand, but with steadily growing choice and…
Tesla's next big bet with no steering wheel or pedals, the Cybercab, to go into…
The Hyundai Inster is small, shapely and fun to drive. It underlines why we don't…
One in six Tesla drivers caught speeding in last year, police data shows, more than…
BYD details specs of Atto 1, expected to be Australia's lowest cost EV, as The…
"We’ve never sold anything like this before." Pickles to auction first hydrogen-powered til tray truck.