MG outsells Tesla in Australia for the first time as local EV market grows, MG4 soars and Model Y sinks
The MG4 has become the first electric vehicle to offically outsell Tesla in Australia.
In October 2024, a delighted MG reported that 1486 MG4s found homes Down Under, almost doubling its previous monthly sales record of 835 deliveries, which was set back in November 2023.
Fuelling the MG4’s big sales were recent price cuts, which saw as much as $10,000 lopped off its sticker. That move saw the electric hatch jump to the fourth best-selling EV in the first 10 months of 2024.
Those discounts have now expired, but at just $32,990 drive-away, the entry-level MG 4 remains Australia’s cheapest EV.
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Tesla, meanwhile, said it only delivered 1042 Model Ys over the same month, which marks the seventh month in a row the US brand has witnessed a sales decline in Australia.
That said, it’s worth pointing out that Tesla has only been reporting its sales to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and more recently the EV Council since March 2022.
The Tesla Model 3 remained the third best-selling EV in Australia in October, selling 422 cars – which represents a sizeable 64.2 per cent drop in sales year-on-year – as the mid-sized EV sedan managed to stay ahead of the BYD Atto3 (330) and the BYD Seal (313).
So add all the Tesla sales together and the total comes out at 1464, 24 shy of the MG.
Tesla’s decline should be all the more worrying considering Australian EV sales were 6.17 per cent higher in October 2024 compared to 2023.
The EV growth is against a backdrop of the total new vehicle market shrinking by 6.6 per cent year-on-year.
Sales of petrol models is down by 12.3 per cent and diesels dropped by a whopping 19.5 per cent.
Tesla deperately need an updated model Y and a cheaper (model 2) to hold the momentum. I also know from countless conversations that the glass roof is not popular with many, as is the lack of a HUD display. Its like Elon has lost interest. I wouldn’t be surprised if they drop to 3rd behind BYD very soon.