Noticed more Teslas?

Former Waiheke Islander John Mead used to see lots of Nissan Leafs on the island (there are nearly 600) but he has been surprised at the number of Teslas he’s seen on Auckland roads since moving to Greenlane in July this year.

In September he did an “unscientific” Tesla survey, adding they’re easily noticed because of their distinctive shape.

Mead counted at least one Tesla at 95% of intersections he stopped at or passed through.

He says usually six or more Teslas are parked each time he goes to a supermarket carpark, and he saw seven Teslas among 55 parking spaces at a private hospital carpark.

Mead says he’s also seen a few Teslas operating as taxis, and one carrying real estate brand advertising.

A Google search one morning showed 750 new Teslas sold in September 2023 and a total 15,263 new and used Teslas sold in New Zealand, Mead says.

“No wonder I see so many when driving around the city.”

Mead’s “survey” seems to be backed by September EV statistics released by the Motor Industry Association (MIA) which lists 697 new Tesla Model Ys sold in September and 2895 year-to-date (YTD).

It also lists 63 Tesla Model 3s sold in September, with 741 YTD.

The MIA results put Tesla top of the EV list in the SUV (Model Y) and passenger (Model 3) categories, especially on YTD sales.

In the passenger EV sector, the MG 4 had 250 September sales and 347 YTD, the BYD Dolphin 107 September sales and 115 YTD sales, and the GWM Ora 10 September sales and 139 YTD.

The SUV category also shows the BYD Atto 3 with 136 September sales and 2159 YTD, and the MG ZS with 86 September sales and 1373 YTD.

The light commercial EV sector is dominated by LDV, while for comparisons with other EV tables the petrol-hybrid SUV category is led by the Toyota RAV4 with 495 September sales and 4645 YTD.