New electric vehicle sales triple in Australia with Tesla outstripping other makers
The number of new electric vehicles in Australia has tripled after years of lagging sales, off the back of incentives introduced by state governments to support their uptake.
Australia recorded 24,078 EV sales in 2021, a significant increase from the 6,900 sold in 2020, which means electric cars now make up 2.39% of the new car market.
The Tesla Model 3 was the bestselling electric car in Australia, with 15,054 vehicles sold last year – accounting for 62.5% of all EVs sold. It was followed by the MG ZS with 1,388 and the Mitsubishi Outlander with 592.
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The sales figures now include the number of cars sold by Tesla in Australia after a deal was struck between the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) and the US company.
In previous years Tesla refused to release a breakdown of figures by region, instead releasing only total global sales figures. The company delivered 936,172 electric cars worldwide in 2021.
In the past, industry bodies that monitor changes in the car market have been forced to make informed estimates, but Tesla’s regional breakdown reveals the number of electric vehicles on Australian roads.
The EVC chief executive, Behyad Jafari, said the sales figures represent a milestone in a market where EV sales have lagged for years because of mixed signals from government, especially compared with other parts of the world.
“We’ve been waiting for quite a few years to hit the 1% mark, so to skip that and go straight to 2% is a big deal,” Jafari said.
He said the boost can be attributed the mix of supportive policies introduced by individual states and territories designed to support uptake, including stamp duty waivers and rebates.
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