EV sales March 2023: Battery electric cars outsell hybrids

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) outsold hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) by a record 26 per cent in March, according to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

BEV new-car sales reached 6612 last month, accounting for 6.7 per cent of the light vehicle market. This number is up by a little more than 1000 on March 2022’s figures – the first time that Tesla began reporting its local sales figures.

Meanwhile, 5247 hybrid cars were sold, accounting for 5.3 per cent of the market. Perhaps notably, March’s hybrid sales were down by 30 per cent year-on-year from 7474 hybrids sold.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) also saw a growth of 33 per cent, increasing to 569 sold.

What was Australia’s best-selling electric car in March 2023?

For the first time, the Tesla Model Y (pictured above) became Australia’s best-selling EV, and claiming the number two position in the SUV segment overall. It was also the best-selling medium-sized SUV priced at more than $60,000.

Tesla sold 1938 Model Ys compared to the next-best-seller in the segment, the Audi Q5, of which 645 were sold.

Perhaps more importantly, it proved the second-most popular SUV across the board after the Mitsubishi Outlander which sold 2,169 units.

The next most popular EV was the Tesla Model 3 (1640 sold), outselling the runner-up in the medium car above $60,000 segment, the BMW 3 Series, by a factor of eight (238 sold).

Put into perspective, Australians bought three times as many Model 3s as they did Toyota Camrys in March.

The third-most popular EV was a new market entrant, the BYD Atto 3. To the end of March, BYD has sold 4211 Atto 3 electric SUVs.

Other notable all-electric performers were the Polestar 2 (212 sold), the BMW iX (114 sold) and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (112 sold).

EVs reach 6.5 per cent new-car market share in Q1 2023

For the first three months of 2023, EVs in Australia claimed 6.47 per cent of the new-car market share. This is more than twice the market share of all 2022.

As the graph below shows, this represents a significant increase in EV uptake in Australia:

With numerous incentives to buy an EV now on the table at both state and federal levels, increased EV uptake in Australia looks poised to continue.

This month, the NRMA welcomed the National Electric Vehicle Strategy which aims to introduce a fuel efficiency standard and other levers to further increase EV uptake.