Tesla sales down by almost half as demand drops
Electric vehicle (EV) specialist Tesla has recorded its sixth straight month of deliveries dropping compared to last year, as a shocking month for the Model Y led to a near 50 per cent decrease year over year.
According to data published by the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), Tesla delivered 2649 vehicles to Australian customers in September, a 48.8 per cent decline on the 5177 deliveries it made in the same month a year ago.
This means Tesla’s year-on-year delivery figures have fallen in every month since April, though the brand’s figures haven’t again slumped to the same low as January (1107 deliveries) when the brand was impacted by quarantine delays.
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The falloff in deliveries was largely driven by the Tesla Model Y, of which just 1498 examples were registered in September.
This was down 60.7 per cent on September 2023, when the electric SUV was Australia’s third best-selling vehicle overall, behind the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.
While Tesla Model 3 deliveries also dropped, they declined by 15.7 per cent, on account of 1151 examples being registered compared to 1366 a year ago.
Year-to-date, Tesla deliveries in Australia stand at 30,750 examples to the end of September, representing a 19.1 per cent decline on the same nine-month period in 2023.
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Though Tesla’s overall delivery figures align with previous reporting, there are irregularities in the EVC’s individual monthly numbers for both the Model Y and Model 3.
To the end of June, both the EVC and the Federal Council of Automotive Industries’ (FCAI) VFACTS reports showed there had been 12,516 Model Ys and 10,600 Model 3s delivered in the first six months of this year.
However, in July – the first month where Tesla deliveries stopped being reported to the FCAI – the EVC said 1353 Model Ys and 3330 Model 3s had been delivered.
While these figures would bring their respective year-to-date figures up to 13,869 (Model Y) and 11,839 (Model 3), the EVC’s report claimed the seven-month total was 12,169 Model Ys and 13,539 Model 3s.
In both cases this has seemingly continued to skew the individual models’ data in the following months, though Tesla’s overall total appears to remain accurate.
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The EVC’s year-to-date tally to the end of September shows there’s been 14,997 Model Ys and 15,753 Model 3 deliveries made so far this year.
By comparison, CarExpert’s calculations of January-June VFACTS and July-September EVC data show Tesla has delivered 16,697 Model Ys and 14,053 Model 3s.
If this is indeed the case, Model Y deliveries have declined by 28.8 per cent, while Model 3 deliveries are down just 3.3 per cent.
It’s understood Model 3 deliveries have remained steady due to the arrival of the facelifted ‘Highland’ sedan late last year, while potential buyers are possibly holding out for the similarly updated Model Y ‘Juniper’, due to enter production in 2025.
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