Tesla sales surge to record levels

Almost 7600 Tesla vehicles have been sold in Australia so far this year according to carsales sources, accounting for nearly half of all Teslas delivered Down Under since 2014.

What’s more, all of them were examples of the Tesla Model 3, due to a black-out for Model S and Model X deliveries in Australia until 2022, as sales of the mid-size electric sedan ramp up to record levels.

Unlike almost all auto brands in Australia, Tesla does not report its vehicle registrations via the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ sales statistics division, VFACTS.

But sales figures obtained by carsales show the officially reported figure of 2732 electric vehicle sales to July this year is dwarfed by the number of Tesla Model 3s sold in the same period – 7598.

And while only 515 EVs were officially registered in total last month, no fewer than 1245 Tesla Model 3 cars were sold in July.

So Tesla has delivered almost three vehicles for every EV reported as sold by all FCAI-affiliated brands combined last month and so far this year.

Spurred by a free flow of shipments from China, the Tesla Model 3 notched up 2150 local deliveries in the first quarter of this year and 4203 in the second quarter.

Priced from under $60,000 since July, the Model 3’s 2021 total of more than 7500 sales accounts for 43 per cent of the 17,649 vehicles sold in Australia by Tesla in total in less than seven years.

When the all-new Tesla Model Y joins the Model 3 in coming to Australia exclusively from China next year, the mid-size electric SUV should easily surpass the sedan on which it’s based as Tesla’s – and Australia’s – top-selling EV.

Related: VFACTS July — New car sales remain steady – for now
Related: Tesla Model 3 now priced below $60,000