Deliveries of Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia have fallen once again, with the US brand now recording its eighth monthly sales decline this year and its seventh in a row.
According to data published by the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), Tesla delivered 1464 EVs to Australian customers in October, representing a 26.4 per cent drop on the same month a year prior.
While October was a weak month for Tesla in 2023 as well – having failed to crack 2000 deliveries – last month’s result represents the seventh consecutive month of declines for the brand, with no year-on-year increase since March.
| Month | Deliveries | YoY difference |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1107 | -66.6% |
| February | 5665 | +61.1% |
| March | 6017 | +68.2% |
| April | 2077 | -43.5% |
| May | 3567 | -20.3% |
| June | 4683 | -33.3% |
| July | 2592 | -12.9% |
| August | 2393 | -30.5% |
| September | 2649 | -48.8% |
| October | 1464 | -26.4% |
| TOTAL | 32,214 | -19.4% |
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Model Y
Tesla’s Model Y remained its best seller, recording 1042 deliveries in October, an increase of 28.6 per cent on a year ago.
However, the Model 3 was the big driver of the sales downturn, with just 422 examples deliveries last month, a significant 64.2 per cent drop on October 2023’s 1178 deliveries.
Year-to-date (January to October), sales of the Model 3 are down 7.9 per cent to 14,475, while the Model Y has dropped by 26.9 per cent to 17,739.
Model 3
It’s still set to continue being Australia’s best-selling EV though, as from January to September the third-place BYD Seal had only managed 5308 deliveries.
The drop in Tesla’s deliveries this year has been a major driver in the cooling of EV sales growth in Australia; in contrast, hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales have risen sharply.
The arrival of the facelifted ‘Highland’ Model 3, deliveries of which began at the very end of 2023, doesn’t appear to have boosted sales as much as expected.
It remains unclear whether the upcoming ‘Juniper’ update of the Model Y, due in 2025, will boost sales.
MORE: Everything Tesla Model Y • Model 3
