Tesla’s Aussie sales dive: BYD Sealion 7 claims best-selling EV in July, Model Y to fight back in August

Tesla Australia has just had a month it would rather forget after it only shifted 555 Tesla Model Ys and just 362 Tesla Model 3s in July 2025.

That result has helped elevate BYD’s Sealion 7 to EV sales leadership in July.

Bringing an end to two blockbuster months of growth for Tesla Down Under, July’s downturn followed a mighty June when it shifted an impressive 4859 vehicles and monster May when 3897 Tesla sedans and SUVs found homes.

Insiders at the US car maker said last month’s tally of just 917 cars wasn’t due to lack of demand but a slump triggered by a limited number of cars available to sell.

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Tesla regularly posts solid end-of-quarter sales results before taking a breather at the start of the following quarter. July is the first month of Q3.

According to Tesla Australia there has been a big delay in the arrival of new Model Ys and Model 3s from the car maker’s factory in Shanghai, China.

With supply restored, Tesla expects a return to form in August, September and the rest of the year but it still might not be enough.

As it stands, in the first seven months of this year Tesla has sold a total of 15,063 cars, down 41.4 per cent on the same period in 2024.

Catching Tesla napping has been BYD, which seized on the lack of Model Ys to elevate the sales of its mid-size all-electric SUV.

The result saw the Chinese brand shifting 1427 examples of its popular EV.

Despite the drop-off in volumes last month Tesla is still expected to remain the best-selling electric car brand year-to-date, although BYD could potentially overtake it later this year.

That’s especially the case if BYD Automotive Australia succeeds in a plan to quickly address a build-up in back-orders with better Sealion 7 supply.

While Tesla’s EV share has been slipping, the American brand still accounts for about 30 per cent of Aussie EV sales.

And marketing efforts are ramping up. Tesla has introduced a $2000 bonus for any customer trading in an eligible vehicle, with the only restriction they must take delivery of their new or ex-demonstrator Model Y by September 30.

A further $3000 discount is also available for customers ordering via a novated lease or using finance from Plenti or Westpac.

Tesla’s difficult July comes as the US car maker stalls in Europe. In the UK last month it sold 987 vehicles, down on the 2462 cars it sold in June 2024).

In the bigger German market, where many European Teslas are built, the brand sold just 1100 cars (58 per cent down on July 2024).