Best-selling electric cars in Australia over first nine months of 2024
10/03/2024 09:58 PM
Sales of electric cars have hit a speed bump – and if the current rate of decline continues to New Year’s Eve, will fail to improve upon 2023’s record result.
Electric vehicle (EV) sales in Australia are on track to flatline or drop by the end of 2024 – and fail to grow year-on-year for the first time since 2016 – amid a cooldown in demand for battery-powered cars.
It is despite more choice in the electric-car market than ever before – and drastic price cuts that have seen the most affordable models limbo beneath $35,000 drive-away for the first time.
Deliveries of electric cars declined for the fourth month in a row in September 2024, as the popularity of hybrid vehicles booms amid concerns around driving range and accessibility of EV charging stations.
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Over the first nine months of the year, electric vehicle sales are up 6.4 per cent on the prior year, which went on to see a record-setting 87,217 examples delivered over the calendar year.
But at the end of May – the last month of growth – electric-car sales were up 27 per cent compared to the prior year.
It means that over the past four months, electric-car sales are down 15 per cent, after monthly declines of 27.2 per cent in September, 15.6 per cent in August, 1.5 per cent in July and 13.2 per cent in June.
If the trend continues to the end of the year – and EV sales over October, November and December decline by 15 per cent – an estimated 73,200 electric cars would leave showroom floors in 2024, down 16 per cent compared to 2023.
Tesla has led the decline in electric-car sales, with its deliveries down 48.8 per cent in September 2024 – and down 19.1 per cent year-to-date.
It remains the best-selling electric vehicle maker, accounting for more than two in five sales – with its Model Y SUV (16,697) and Model 3 sedan (14,053) still the country’s first and second best-selling electric vehicles year-to-date.
Close behind is BYD, with its Seal sedan (5308) leading the Atto 3 small SUV (4926) in third and fourth respectively.
The most popular European-built electric car is the BMW iX1 small SUV with 1948 sales – for sixth place overall – followed by the BMW i4, which has grown its sales by 842 per cent compared to the same period last year, from 169 to 1592 deliveries.
In contrast, Volvo XC40 Recharge sales have fallen by 61 per cent from 2275 over the first nine months of last year – enough for a fifth-placed overall finish – to 882 over the same period this year.
This data is collated from VFACTS data published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), Australia’s peak body for new-car brands, as well as Tesla and Polestar data distributed through the Electric Vehicle Council.
These brands have exited the FCAI, and ended their submission of figures to VFACTS reports at the end of February and June respectively.
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