EV sales April 2023: Tesla takes out two places in top 10

Electric vehicles (EVs) hit yet another milestone in April as the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3 appeared in the top 10 list for new car sales together for the first time.

Coming in at number four after the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Toyota RAV4 with 2095 sales, it narrowly missed on beating the RAV4 as number one best seller in the SUV segment.

The Tesla Model 3 came in a number eight as Tesla tucked 1581 sales under its belt for the month.

All in all, 6530 BEVs (battery electric vehicles) were sold in April 2023, accounting for 7.95 per cent of the light vehicle market according to the latest figures from Vfacts.

Tesla accounted for 56 per cent of the EV market and 4.5 per cent of the broader vehicle market, taking out number seven place overall.

BEVs also outsold hybrids once again for the third month in a row, as Toyota’s production continues to suffer from shutdowns.

For the first four months of 2023, EVs in Australia achieved 6.8 per cent of the market share. This is double that of the same period in 2022.

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

The Tesla Model Y held first place in Australia’s growing electric car market, but the Tesla Model 3 continues to hold first place in year-to-date figures.

It again claimed the number one spot as best-selling medium-sized SUV priced above $60,000. Tesla sold four times that of the next best-seller in the segment for April - the Lexus NX, which sold 528 units.

Meanwhile, the ever-popular Tesla Model 3 outsold all other passenger vehicles, tipping the scales against the Toyota Camry (574 sales) by a factor of three.

The BYD Atto 3 also continued its March into the Australian vehicle market claiming fifth place in the medium-sized SUV segment priced under $60,000 with 1188 sales.

This was followed by the Volvo XC40 Pure Recharge with 374 sales - 70 per cent of all XC40 sales - making it the fourth most popular EV in Australia year-to-date.

Other notable all-electric performers were the MG ZS EV (208), the Volvo C40 (133) and the Polestar 2 (122).

SUV sales up, petrol and diesel still prevalent

While the upturn in the electric vehicle market is promising, it still has a long way to go to make a dent on Australia’s transport emissions.

Petrol still prevails in the passenger and SUV segments while diesel rules heavy transport (and a fair chunk of the SUV market.)

While the Tesla Model Y did well in April sales, it accounted for just one in five sales in the largest segment - medium-sized SUV sales.

And, there is still not one electric competitor in 4x4s, Australia’s second-most popular segment.