EV sales November 2023: MG outsells Tesla with one key EV model

Boosted by low-cost Chinese EVs, EV sales for the month reached 8646 – 7.7 per cent of the market - as the newly arrived MG MG4 electric hatchback outsold the Tesla Model 3.

It’s the first time another brand has – at least in recent years - sold more EVs than any single Tesla model. Until the arrival of the Model Y the Model 3 was the firm favourite, although this quickly changed once Tesla’s popular electric SUV hit Australian shores.

Now, the MG MG4 sits at number two with 834 sales in the monthly figures. As one of the most affordable EVs in Australia alongside the BYD Dolphin hatchback – both carry a starting price under $40,000, it holds a key position in the market for those looking to go electric at entry level.

The numbers are however a far cry from 3151 Model Y sales, which gained the electric SUV the number four spot across the entire auto market for the month, after the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu Ute D-Max. So too was the Model 3, of which Tesla delivered 788 units in November.

As for the MG4, it is likely to be bumped off the second step once the Tesla Model 3 Highland deliveries commence in January. With the first of these now spotted on incoming ships from China, a new era for the popular electric sedan is imminent.

Following on from the top three were the BYD Atto 3 (668 sales) and the BYD Dolphin which is looking to take on the MG4 in 2024 with 589 sales for the month. Joining these in the top ten for the month were Volvo XC40 Pure Recharge (215), the Kia EV6 (212), the MG ZS EV (134), the Polestar 2 (191), and the Mercedes-Benz EQA (169).

EV sales in 2023 are continuing to hit an all-time high in Australia, tipping over the 80,000 mark in November. Year-to-date, market share now sits at 7.2%, up from less than 3 per cent the same time in 2022.

This is against the background of vehicle sales in the broader market hitting a new record, tipping car sales for the year over the 1.1 million mark; EV sales were almost triple the same time last year, when 28,326 EVs had sold to the end of November 2022.

Yearly sales figures for the Model Y now sit at 27,418, while there have been 16,506 Model 3 sales. The BYD Atto 3 has crossed the 10,000 mark with 10,356 sales year-to-date.

Next most popular EVs after the Atto 3 in year-to-date sales are the MG ZS EV and the Volvo XC40 Pure Recharge – the former outperformed the latter by 31 cars with 2680 sales compared to the Volvo sitting at 2649.

As deliveries of the MG4 only commenced in August, it sits at number six for the year with 2526 sales. This is followed by the Polestar 2 (2058), the Kia EV6 (1579), the Mercedes-Benz EQA (1449) and the Volvo C40 (1068), sales of which brought the Swedish marque’s all-electric sales to 35 per cent of its total sales.