Tesla Model Y picks up the pace

The Tesla Model Y came second among the top three models sold during November.

The EV had 1099 units registered – just behind the Ford Ranger (1527 units) and ahead of the Toyota Hilux (925 units), says the Motor Industry Association (MIA), adding that Tesla has moved into sixth place overall with 5% market share (5726 units).

About 2488 battery electric (BEV) passenger vehicles, 65 BEV light commercial vehicles, 23 BEV heavy vehicles, 542 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and 1704 petrol hybrid vehicles sold for the month.

That’s in spite of a 4.3% drop in November comparisons with 15,621 registrations of new vehicles for the month just gone compared to November last year.  Overall, the market year to date is 0.2% down on the first 11 months of 2021, says MIA principal technical adviser Mark Stockdale.

Toyota was the market lead for passenger and SUV registrations with 15% market share (1654 units) followed by Tesla with 12% (1365 units) and then Mitsubishi also with 12% market share (1306 units).

Registrations of 11,175 passenger cars and SUVs were down 0.3% (39 units) on the same month last year but ahead of 2021 year to date by 3.2% (up 3358 units).

Also reflecting a slight market softening, registrations of 4446 new commercial vehicles were down 13.0% (667 units) on November last year. Year to date sales of commercial vehicles is down 7.4% (3589 units) on the first 11 months of 2021.

Stockdale says the 2022 market is being affected by supply chain challenges, changes to the Clean Car Discount introduced in April and the Clean Car Standard about to take effect on January 1.

“There has been an increase in low emission vehicle sales and a sustained reduction in the sales of light commercial vehicles,” he says.

Meanwhile, there’s talk of a possible slight delay to the reinstatement of the full fuel excise tax, which was cut by 25 cents a litre in March with the cut extended to January 31 next year.

Reports suggest the Government may issue a decision around the tax before this Christmas – the full reinstatement expected to lead to another surge in EV purchases.

The Tesla Model Y is also led new EV sales for November in Australia, with EVs now claiming 4.7% of the new car market there – 4457 new EVs sold during November.

The Tesla Model Y sold 1805 units in November, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) in Australia, while the newly introduced BYD Atto 3 had 845 sales for the month and the Tesla Model 3 about 390 sales.