A fully-electric Tesla is now one of Australia’s most popular cars – outselling the highly sought-after Toyota LandCruiser with fuel prices set to soar again.
The Model 3 sedan, with a starting price of $63,900, was fourth on the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries sales chart for August with 2,380 orders.
Electric vehicle sales are now at a record high, in terms of monthly market share, with petrol and diesel excise set to double by the end of September, which could see fuel prices climb back above $2 a litre.
The Tesla Model 3 last month outsold the new LandCruiser, which managed 2,379 sales – with buyers now waiting up to two years for the latest 300 Series model with a twin-turbo V6.
A fully-electric Tesla is now one of Australia’s most popular cars – outselling the very sought-after Toyota LandCruiser with petrol prices set to soar again. The Model 3 sedan (pictured), with a starting price of $63,900, was fourth on the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries sales chart for August with 2,380 orders
The Tesla also outsold the popular Mazda CX-5 SUV (2,325 sales) and the Toyota Corolla (2,115 sales), which was Australia’s most popular car in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
It also beat popular utes including the Mitsubishi Triton (2,087 sales) and Isuzu D-Max (1,928 sales).
Fully-electric cars last month had a record market share of 4.4 per cent, with Elon Musk’s Tesla brand in August selling 3,397 EVs, including the Model 3, Model S and Model X.
One in 10 new cars sold in Australia is now either fully-electric or a hybrid, with state governments providing subsidies and stamp duty exemptions to entice buyers into zero or low-emission cars.
The NSW government offers $3,000 stamp duty rebates for EVs worth up to $68,750, which makes an entry-level Tesla Model 3 an enticing purchase.
Across all brands, EVs from January to August had a 2 per cent market share with the $46,990 MG ZS EV the cheapest all-electric car in Australia.
New Zealand’s EV market share this year rose to 9 per cent, up from 3 per cent last year after it introduced $A4,000 penalties in April for those who bought petrol or diesel cars.
Tesla began providing quarterly sales data to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries in March but has since given the industry body monthly figures.
The fully-electric Tesla last month outsold the new LandCruiser, which managed 2,379 sales with buyers now waiting up to two years for the latest 300 Series model (pictured) with a twin-turbo V6.
Utes, mainly available with diesel engines, were still the bestsellers in August with the Toyota HiLux, Australia’s annual No. 1 since 2016, managing 6,214 sales, compared with 4,497 sales for the the first all-new Ford Ranger in a decade.
The Toyota RAV4, available as a petrol-electric hybrid, was third with 2,482 sales.
The overall sales figures for August were the best since August 2017, which Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries president Tony Weber said was a sign supply constraints, linked to computer chips shortages and Covid restrictions, were easing.
‘This gives hope that the supply of vehicles to the Australian market is beginning to show signs of improvement,’ he said.
Car sales in August were 17.3 per cent stronger compared with the same month in 2021.
Last month, 95,256 vehicles were sold bringing the year-to-date total to 717,575.
More than half, or 52 per cent, of those were SUVs with 375,036 sold from January to August.
This occurred ahead of fuel excise doubling back to 44.2 cents a litre from September 28, ending the six-month halving to 22.1 cents a litre introduced by former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the March budget.
Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Treasurer Jim Chalmers have both ruled out extending the excise halving as gross government debt approaches $1trillion.
‘We have to make decisions based upon what we can afford, and we have one trillion dollars of Liberal Party debt,’ Mr Albanese told ABC Radio on Monday.
Fully-electric cars last month had a record market share of 4.4 per cent, with Tesla in August selling 3,397 EVs, including the Model 3, Model S (pictured in California) and Model X. One in 10 new cars sold in Australia is now either fully-electric or a hybrid, with state governments providing subsidies and stamp duty exemptions to entice buyers into zero or low-emission cars
Toyota was Australia’s top-selling brand in August with a 22.5 per cent market share ahead of Mazda (9.3 per cent), Mitsubishi (7.5 per cent), Kia (7.4 per cent), Hyundai (7.2 per cent), Ford 5.4 per cent), MG (4.3 per cent), Isuzu Ute (3.4 per cent), Subaru (3.2 per cent) and Mercedes-Benz Cars (2.7 per cent).
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King last month flagged new fuel efficiency standards would be introduced as part of a National Electric Vehicle Strategy.
Under Labor’s plan, a low emissions target would apply to 75 per cent of the Commonwealth government’s car fleet by 2025, with that figure including purchases and leases.
The ministers have also promised to have electric vehicle charging stations at average intervals of every 150km on major roads along with a national hydrogen highways refuelling network.
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