Tesla and BYD lead EV sales slump in August, despite price cuts and new models

Electric car sales in Australia have dipped for the second month in a row during August – despite multiple existing EV makers cutting prices across their lineup and introducing multiple new models.

The latest data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) shows that 5,892 battery electric vehicles were sold in Australia in August – a share of just 5.9 per cent of the overall new car market.

The data is now split into two sources following the breakaway of Tesla and Polestar from the main car lobby group, the  FCAI. It reported 3,434 EV sales from the car makers it represents, while the Electric Vehicle Council revealed 2,458 sales from Tesla and Polestar.

Both brands, however, are sharply down from a year ago, with Model Y sales nearly halving from 2,314 in August last  year to 1,300 in August this year, and down from 1,335 in July, although the Model 3 was up to 1,063 from 999 in the same month last year. Polestar 2 sales fell to 62 from 225 a year ago ahead of the release of the Polestar 3 and the Polestar 4.

EV Sales Breakdown – August 2024

EV sales have gradually been coming down and August represented the second lowest month of EVs by percentage this year after January, which had 5.5% of EV sales during the month. 

While the EV market stagnated, it was another strong month for plug in hybrids, driven by BYD’s new Sealion 06 SUV, which accounted for 1,058 out of 2,644 PHEV sales for the month.

But Tesla and Polestar were not the only car makers to suffer. Interestingly enough, the Model 3 sales alone outsold BYD’s entire EV lineup during the month with Atto 3 (427), Dolphin (165) and Seal (371) accounting for only 963 sales, compared to more than 1,300 in July.

The Seal had its lowest month of sales, hinting at potential demand for the upcoming 2025 BYD Seal which is expected to have faster charging and more technology than the current model.

MG took the fifth spot with its MG4 hatchback getting 309 sales. MG has been cutting prices and improving its warranty offering to keep the momentum of MG4 sales going which would be interesting to observe in the coming months.

The best-selling EVs in August 2024 were:

• Tesla Model Y – 1330 sales
• Tesla Model 3 – 1063 sales
• BYD Atto 3 – 427 sales
• BYD Seal – 371 sales
• MG MG4 – 309 sales
• Volvo EX30 – 220 sales
• MG ZS EV – 174 sales
• BYD Dolphin – 165 sales
• BMW i4 – 119 sales
• Kia EV6 – 114 sales
• GWM Ora – 106 sales
• Ford Mustang Mach-E – 92 sales
• Hyundai Kona Electric – 76 sales
• Toyota bZ4X – 70 sales

The Driven is waiting to hear back from various manufacturers for sales of some EV models and this list will be updated once they’re received. These include numbers for the ZS EV, Kona Electric and more.

FCAI CEO Tony Weber said in a statement that hybrid sales were up 44.9 per cent on August 2023, and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles more than doubled.

‘However, in line with the experience in many global markets, sales of battery electric vehicles are disappointing,” he said.

“This is despite the supply of battery electric vehicles increasing significantly with more brands and EV models having entered the Australian market.”

With EV uptake seeing a short-term slump, the manufacturers will need to do all they can to keep their EVs fresh and attractive to new buyers. This includes the new manufacturers who very well could reset the growth trajectory and help decarbonise Australia sooner.

See full details of EV sales for each month of the year in our database here.