The combined sales of specialist EV makers Tesla and Polestar have more than doubled in April – compared to the same period last year – as interest in electric cars continued to surge through the month of April as fuel costs remained high.
Early data released by the Electric Vehicle Council shows that 1,458 Tesla and Polestar EVs were sold in April, more than double the 702 sold by the same companies in the same month a year ago.
The EVC said the April results take the year-to-date numbers for Tesla and Polestar to a combined 9,185 vehicles, a rise of 47 per cent over the same period a year ago.
Tesla, of course, dominates the sales between the two companies, with 1,225 EVs sold in April – led by the Model Y with 822 units, and up from 500 in April last year. Polestar sold 233, up from 202, with the Polestar 4 leading the way with 190 units sold.
The EVC said NSW is the fastest growing state with a 66 per cent lift in EV sales from last year, although the bulk of EV sales in the country are reported through the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), which will report later this week.
However, in a separate announcement, the ACT government said EVs took a 34 per cent share of its sales in the month of April, a record for Australia which trails most of the western world. Country-wide EV sales hit a peak of 14.5 per cent of new car sales in March.
The NRMA also reports that EV insurance quote requests jumped 121 per cent in April 2026 compared with April last year, as fuel price volatility pushes more Australians to consider making the switch.
The Tesla sales are down from March, when it sold 3,485 EVs, including 2,818 Model Ys, but its sales do tend to be focused later in the quarter. It has, however, promised to increase shipping to meet surging demand which has led to a several month wait-list.
Hyundai has also reported its sales for April, showing a total of 475 sales, down from 614 in March, but well ahead of its January and February sales. Its best selling EV was the Elexio, followed by Kona, the Inster and the Ioniq 5.
See The Driven’s detailed EV sales data here: Australian electric vehicle sales by month in 2026; by model and by brand.
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Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.