Tesla electric car outsells Australia’s most popular SUVs

An all-electric Tesla has outsold all SUVs in Australia and is now a top 10 brand for the first time.

The Tesla Model 3 ranked third on the January sales charts, trailing only the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.

Billionaire Elon Musk’s car company has entered Australia’s top 10 most popular brands list for the first time ever, with Tesla ranking ninth on the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ monthly list.

In the first month of 2023, 2,927 Tesla Model 3 sedans rolled off the showroom, even though it has a pricey starting price of $63,900.

The EV, made in the Chinese city of Shanghai, accounted for 88 percent of the 3,313 Tesla sold in Australia last month.

Tesla accounted for 68 percent of the 4,852 battery electric cars sold in Australia in January, with electric vehicles holding a small but growing 5.71 percent market share.

The electric-only US brand also accounted for 31.8 per cent of the 10,426 cars sold in Australia in January that were battery electric, plug-in hybrid or petrol-electric hybrid.

The Tesla Model 3 and MG ZS, available as EVs, were the only Chinese-made cars in the top 10 for January, with MG in seventh place among the top 10 brands.

The new Ford Ranger ute was number 1 for the second month in a row with 4,749 sold, which is a 46.3% increase from 3,245 ordered in January 2022, when the previous decade-old form was still in theaters. of exhibition.

Billionaire Elon Musk’s car company has, for the first time ever, entered Australia’s top 10 most popular brands list, with Tesla ranking ninth on the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ monthly list (pictured). , a Sydney charging station at The Star casino)

The Toyota HiLux came in second with 4,131 sold, an increase of 15 percent compared to the 3,591 that left the showroom in January 2022.

SUVs, or four-wheel drive vehicles, held six spots in the top 10, including the small Mazda CX-3 (2,417 sales), the midsize Mazda CX-5 (2,189 sales), the Toyota RAV4 (1,958 sales), the MG ZS (1,842 sales), the Mitsubishi Outlander (1,674 sales) and Toyota LandCruiser (1,631 sales).

The Isuzu D-Max, with 1,843 sales, was one of three Thai-built utes in the top 10.

Despite a series of interest rate hikes, 84,873 vehicles were sold in January, the best January result since 2018.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries President Tony Weber said computer chip shortages and Covid production constraints were being resolved.

“The industry continues to recover after years of supply chain disruptions and delays,” he said.

The Tesla Model 3 was Australia’s ninth best-selling car in December, but 10,877 were sold in 2022, compared to 9,538 for the Toyota Camry.

This ended the Camry’s three-decade run as Australia’s undisputed best-selling midsize sedan, becoming the first midsize sedan to outsell the Toyota since the Australian-built Mitsubishi Magna did in the early 1990s. .