Elon Musk may have turned Twitter into a turkey but the billionaire’s bad press isn’t impacting sales of his Tesla electric vehicles here in Australia.
Latest new car sales data showed Tesla’s mid-sized Model Y SUV was the second biggest selling new car in Australia for the month of June according to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Tesla’s charge bumped the Australian-designed, US-built Ford Ranger back to third spot.
Toyota’s HiLux was again Australia’s biggest selling motor vehicle, as it has been for years. However, with Tesla’s numbers, it could very soon cough-up the title to Elon’s brainchild.
Below are the top 10 selling motor vehicles in Australia and their respective sales numbers. Interestingly, two of the top 10 – the Tesla and the MG – are both Chinese-made.
Utes dominated the list (which is a healthy sign for the economy) taking four of the top 10 spots, while there was only one passenger vehicle – the Hyundai i30.
1. TOYOTA HILUX: 6,142 sales
2. TESLA MODEL Y: 5,560 sales
3. FORD RANGER: 5,334 sales
4. MG ZS: 3,756 sales
5. TOYOTA RAV4: 2,858 sales
6. TOYOTA LANDCRUISER: 2,724 sales
7. HYUNDAI TUCSON: 2,667 sales
8. HYUNDAI i30: 2,523 sales
9. MAZDA BT-50: 2,560 sales
10. ISUZU UTE D-MAX: 2,500 sales
The numbers also appear to debunk Aussies’ reticence around electric vehicles. Of all the car sales in June, 8.8 per cent of those were electric which was half the 16.6 per cent combined share for electric, hybrid and plug-in vehicles.
The cheapest Tesla Y retails for a cool $65,400 in Australia, although there are rebates if the car is used as an Uber while the NSW Government will pay drivers $3000 to switch to an EV.
Commenting on the figures, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries CEO Tony Weber said: “The early adopters of the new powertrain technology continue to push up the sales of electric vehicles across the country.
“The steady introduction of new battery electric models across all model segments at more competitive price points is critically important as we deal with the challenges of supplying electric vehicles that meet business and personal consumer needs at prices the mainstream buyers can afford.”
