Tesla loses top spot to MG in EV sales charts
The MG 4 has taken a unique place in Australian automotive history, becoming the first electric vehicle (EV) to outsell Tesla in a month – at least since the US brand started publishing local sales figures more than two and half years ago.
In October 2024, MG delivered 1486 examples of its small electric hatchback, almost doubling its previous monthly sales record of 835 deliveries set in November 2023, and more than tripling its monthly average of 419 deliveries between January and September.
It comfortably beat the Tesla Model Y – long Australia’s best-selling EV – of which 1042 examples were delivered in October, amid the brand’s seventh straight month of sales decline.
This represents the first time Tesla has been beaten by another brand’s EV to a monthly sales win since it began reporting its figures to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) in March 2022, and latterly the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC).
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While it’s unclear whether Tesla had ever been outsold prior to their sales figures being reported, it wasn’t the first brand to launch an EV in Australia, with models such as the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and Mitsubishi i-MiEV arriving before it.
The Tesla Model 3 was third for the month with just 422 deliveries, a massive 64.2 per cent drop on the year prior, but still enough to stay ahead of BYD’s Atto 3 (330) and Seal (313).
Despite Tesla sales dropping for the month, EV deliveries overall were up by 5.9 per cent compared to October 2023 – suggesting buyers are now starting to move to other brands.
Overall, the new vehicle market shrunk by 6.4 per cent compared to October a year ago, with petrol vehicle deliveries falling 12.3 per cent and diesel vehicles down 19.5 per cent.
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The MG 4’s strong October also vaulted it to fourth place in the year-to-date EV sales race with 5258 deliveries, just two examples ahead of the Atto 3.
The Seal sits third on 5621 deliveries, though the Model Y and Model 3 continue to dominate with 17,739 and 14,475 registrations, respectively.
It remains to be seen whether the MG 4 can continue on its impressive sales trajectory, as it received price cuts of more than $10,000 to its base variant heading into October.
This discount has since been repealed, however, the entry-level MG 4 grade is still Australia’s cheapest EV, wearing a $32,990 drive-away price until January 31, 2025.
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