Tesla sets Australian sales record
Tesla Model 3 outsold Toyota Camry in 2021 – or did it?UPDATED 01/02/2022 12:30pm: The Electric Vehicle Council has today confirmed the actual number of number of Tesla Model 3s sold in Australia in 2021 is 12,094, not 15,054 as it announced yesterday.
In a press release issued today (see below), the EVC said human error was to blame for the inflated 2021 sales figures it was provided by Tesla, which erroneously included 2020 delivery numbers.
“Yesterday the Electric Vehicle Council released the EV sales figures for 2021, which showed a massive leap from 2020 numbers. While the massive year-on-year leap reported was correct, there was an error in the numbers the EVC was provided relating to Tesla deliveries. Due to a human error, the Tesla delivery figures for 2020 were erroneously added to the delivery figures for 2021 by Tesla before the figure was provided to the EVC. So instead of 15,054 Tesla Model 3 deliveries in 2021, the figure reported should have been 12,094. Correcting the total Tesla deliveries (all models) reduces the total number of EVs delivered in 2021 from 24,078 to 20,665."
ORIGINAL ARTICLE PUBLISHED 31/01/2022 NOON: The Tesla Model 3 set a new EV sales record in 2021, when a staggering 15,054 examples of the mid-size electric sedan were sold according to figures supplied by the US car-maker to the Electric Vehicle Council.
Spurred by a free flow of supplies from China and a new low entry price of $59,900 since July, the meteoric sales spurt saw the zero-emissions American sedan account for almost three-quarters of all EV sales in Australia last year.
It also means the Tesla Model 3 broke the Toyota Camry’s 28-year dominance of the mid-size car segment in 2021, when the previously Australian-made sedan notched up 13,081 registrations.
However, Tesla’s claim of 15,000-plus Model 3 sales last year is significantly more than the 12,000 or so registrations recorded across the US EV brand by the National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System (NEVDIS).
Unlike almost 70 other auto brands, Tesla has never reported its registration figures to VFACTS, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ official market statistician, and does not reveal its sales data to the media.
It could be that the sizeable 3000-unit discrepancy is due to sales of vehicles that are yet to be registered and delivered, in which case the Model 3 may not have notched up as many registrations as Camry, but either way the Model 3 – our Best Electric Car of 2021 – found four times as many customers as the next 10 most popular EVs combined.
Easily the nation’s best-selling EV, the Model 3 outsold the next most popular battery-powered model – the MG ZS EV, Australia’s cheapest electric car – by almost nine to one.
And Tesla, whose Model S and Model X are effectively in hiatus until upgraded MY22 versions arrive – potentially not until 2023 – more than tripled its total 2020 sales tally, selling more EVs than the total number of vehicles sold by long-established brands such as Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Renault, Skoda and Volvo.
The high-end Porsche Taycan (531) was the third best-selling EV ahead of the Hyundai Kona Electric (505) and Nissan LEAF (367).
Tying with the pioneering Nissan for equal fifth was the Mercedes-Benz EQA – an impressive feat given it only launched here in July – while the bigger EQC nabbed seventh, making the premium German brand one of only two brands to appear in the top 10 multiple times.
In the middle of the Mercedes EQ sandwich in sixth was the Hyundai IONIQ Electric (339) small car, making Hyundai the other manufacturer to appear more than once.
The MINI Electric Hatch muscled its way into eighth place with 291 deliveries ahead of the Kia Niro EV (217) in ninth, while the Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric (207) rounded out the top 10.
Including 15,054 Model 3s, a total of 20,665 new electric vehicles were sold in Australia last year, accounting for about 1.95 per cent of the overall new-vehicle market.
Based on official VFACTS data (excluding Tesla), new EV registrations were up 191.1 per cent on 2020, when plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sales were up 99.4 per cent – something EVC chief executive Behyad Jafari said was indicative of evolving consumer views.
“The penny has now well and truly dropped … most people in the car market will now be considering an electric option,” he said.
In a press release issued by the EV lobby group this morning, Jafari went on to echo previous calls for more government action to promote and incentivise the uptake of electric vehicles.
“Governments that take the path of encouragement will capture myriad societal benefits – cleaner air, reduced respiratory illness, smaller carbon footprint, quieter roads,” he said.
“It’s great that some state governments have received the global message, but at a national level we're stuck in the past.
“We desperately need the federal government to introduce Australian EV rebates alongside fuel efficiency standards, just like other developed nations.”
Top 20 EVs in 2021:
- Tesla Model 3 – 15,054*
- MG ZS EV – 1388
- Porsche Taycan – 531
- Hyundai Kona Electric – 505
- Mercedes-Benz EQA – 367
- Nissan LEAF – 367
- Hyundai IONIQ Electric – 339
- Mercedes-Benz EQC – 298
- MINI Electric hatch – 291
- Kia Niro EV – 217
- Volvo XC40 Pure Electric – 207
- Hyundai IONIQ 5 – 172
- Audi e-tron – 108
- BMW i3 – 67
- Mazda MX-30 – 63
- BMW iX3 – 62
- Renault Kangoo – 45
- Jaguar I-PACE – 44
- Lexus UX 300e – 43
- BMW iX – 35
* Tesla figure via EVC
Source: VFACTS
Related: Which Australian states offer the best EV incentives?
Related: Best Electric Car 2021: The verdict
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