Tesla on top: Model 3 Australia’s best-selling passenger car as EV sales soar

The Tesla Model 3’s seemingly unstoppable sales run shows no sign of slowing, with the popular EV crowned Australia’s top-selling passenger vehicle in February.

Some 2671 examples of the Model 3 were sold across the country last month, making it more popular than the Mazda CX-5, the Mitsubishi Outlander and the Toyota RAV4. In fact, the Tesla was only bettered by the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger in outright sales last month.

To give you another example of the model’s success, Tesla was the top-selling passenger car brand (excluding SUVs) in the country last month, with the Model 3 – a single model – outselling the entire passenger car range from brands like Toyota.

Its success is reflective of a boom in EV sales more generally, with battery electric vehicles now making up 6.8 percent of the new-car market, with 5932 sales.

Last month was also a pivotal moment for electric vehicles, with the sales of EVs even outstripping sales of conventional hybrids (5932 vs 5716), though Toyota’s ongoing supply issues no doubt impacted the latter.

Add hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales and the zero- and low-emission sales total climbs to 12,102 sales, or 13.9 per cent of the total market.

“The number of low emission vehicle sales demonstrates that there is an appetite among Australians for environmentally friendly vehicles. However, if we wish to accelerate this transition to a broader range of consumers in all parts of the country, Australia needs to adopt a fuel efficiency standard,” says FCAI Chief Executive, Tony Weber.

The huge month for Tesla wasn’t confined to the Model 3, with the EV brand responsible for almost 60 percent of all EV sales last month, and moving enough vehicles to be crowned Australia’s ninth best-selling brand in February .

The Tesla Model Y found 845 buyers last month, making it the best-selling premium medium SUV in Australia overall.