VFACTS September: Tesla smashes sales records

For the second month running, Tesla has singlehandedly demonstrated that electric cars are a force to be reckoned with in Australia.

The US EV upstart placed among the top seven brands on the Australian new-vehicle sales charts in September, when the new Model Y was the nation’s third most popular vehicle, as well as the nation’s top-selling EV and SUV.

Whereas it was the Tesla Model 3 sedan that sent the EV brand’s sales into SpaceX orbit in August, the first big wave of deliveries of the new Tesla Model Y were behind the record sales performance in September.

From the 5969 Tesla sales recorded last month, 4359 were of the Model Y, leaving the balance for Model 3 at 1610 units.

Overall, Tesla came in seventh position for the month and was close to not only snagging a top-five spot but just 815 units behind the fourth placegetter, Mitsubishi.

At just 1321 sales behind Kia (yes, Kia) in second position, the threat posed by Tesla and the strong demand in the marketplace for attainable EVs is plain to see.

The Model Y was also not that far behind the two top-selling models in Australia – the dominant Toyota HiLux (5170) and Ford Ranger (4890) utes – and was easily the number-one SUV across all categories.

Next best was the Mazda CX-5 (2439), almost 2000 units behind the Model Y, while the Mitsubishi Triton (2319) rounded out the top five models for the month.

Thanks to the Musk-flavoured American brand, total EV sales reached a new high-water mark of 7247 units in September – more than hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars combined (5141) and enough to account for 8.1 per cent of total new vehicle sales, excluding heavy commercials.

And here’s something else to consider: With the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 now built in China for the Australian market, the world’s most populous nation (1.42 billion at last count) – which is fast becoming the epicentre for global EV production – was the third largest supplier of new cars to our shores last month with 14,889 vehicles.

That compares to Japan (23,880) and, thanks to our love of utes, Thailand (20,363), and is not only due to Australia’s rush of affection for Tesla EVs but our hard-wired need for a bargain – something that’s clearly being found in the fast-rising Chinese brands.

MG, which posted 3261 sales in September, is now entrenched among the top 10 brands and heading towards 45,000 sales for the year, while GWM Australia (combining GWM Ute and Haval SUV sales) racked up an all-time record of 3050 sales last month, finishing just outside the top 10 and placing it on track for more than 20,000 sales this year.

The other major Chinese player, LDV, found 1640 new vehicle buyers in September and also has more than 17,000 sales in its sights for the full year.

LDV will soon shake things up further as it combines the two biggest talking points in the Aussie auto market, EVs and utes, with the market’s first battery-electric dual-cab. Stand by for the LDV eT60 in a matter of weeks.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive Tony Weber said the latest sales figures for EVs signalled that “a growing number of Australians were committed to decarbonising their transport choices”.

“Year-to-date, 21,771 battery-electric vehicles have been sold,” Weber said.

“While the overall market share of battery-electric vehicles remains low at 2.7 per cent, there is a clear market trend towards zero-emission technology.”

Of course, Tesla accounted for a dominant 82 per cent of EV sales last month, and for the year to date its 14,023 sales represent more than two-thirds (64.4%) of the total electric car market.

Still, the trend is undeniable and Tesla has already overtaken its 2021 full-year sales record of 12,094 with three months to go in 2022. 

Even without an electric car in its showrooms, there’s no stopping the Toyota juggernaut in Australia, as demonstrated by the Japanese car-maker’s 14,852 sales in September.

However, the tally does represent a 26.5 per cent downturn on the corresponding month last year, and Toyota’s market share fell to 15.9 per cent – down from 24.3 per cent a year ago.

All the action took place below Brand T, with Kia deposing Mazda last month to take second position with 7290 sales – up 41.4 per cent for the month – compared to Mazda’s 7259 (+10.7%).

No longer playing second fiddle to Hyundai, the ‘other’ Korean brand is now just 323 sales behind third-placed Mitsubishi in year-to-date terms (60,200 versus 60,523) and looks set for a podium finish come December 31.

All of this is dependent on vehicle supply, which as Weber made clear, remains “problematic” as the global automotive industry battles logistical and supply chain issues in its attempt to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mitsubishi held fourth position last month with 6784 sales (+47.3%), holding off a resurgent Ford that’s in comeback mode with new-generation Ford Ranger and Everest deliveries in full swing, the Blue Oval managing 6635 units (+15.2%).

Hyundai was way back in sixth on 6501 sales despite a 19.1 per cent uptick for the month – placing just 532 units ahead of Tesla (5969) – while Volkswagen (3698, -2.5%) found enough volume in this tough year for the German brand to leapfrog MG (3261, +8.3%).

Subaru rounded out the top 10 with 3167 sales (+3.4%), leaving other big-name brands well behind including Nissan (1885, -33.1%).

Mercedes-Benz (2240, +6.5%) narrowly held off BMW (2032, +38.7%) for prestige market leadership.

The Aussie auto market overall was up 12.3 per cent in September with 93,555 sales, placing it on an even keel in year-to-date terms (-0.6%) compared to this time last year.

The 811,130 YTD sales should see the market comfortably exceed one million units for the calendar year and surpass the 1.05m recorded in 2021.

Top 10 brands (2022 year to date):

Top 10 vehicles (September 2022):

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