Tesla Model 3 storms NZ

Tesla followers are picking around 300 Model 3s will be delivered in New Zealand during September.

So far, at least 241 have arrived, according to Model 3 owner Mandy Simpson of Wellington who keeps a record of them based on emails, photos and Facebook postings.

She’d been on the Model 3 waiting list since April 2016, receiving her new blue one in early September, and has been recording plate numbers and ranges from early August this year.

“I asked people waiting for their Model 3s to send me their vehicle identification numbers (VIN), looked at that plus photos people posted of their cars and the range around their number plates,” Simpson says.

“It was interesting to watch the excitement mounting as delivery drew near.”

She reckons Model 3 numbers could top 300 for the month, adding that she knows of 301 in the country already, which includes those delivered in July and August.

The official count is likely to be known when the Ministry of Transport releases its monthly EV registration figures in early October.

If it is around 300, then the Model 3 will be up there with the most popular new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

The Model 3 is certainly storming into Australia with more than 2400 of them expected to be delivered there in September, Teslarati reports.

It says that will make the Model 3 one of the top-selling cars in Australia for the month and definitely among the most popular EVs there.