VFACTS: Tesla deliveries surge to seventh in August new-car sales race

Electric-car specialist Tesla has posted its best monthly ‘sales’ result in Australia on record – after a record number of cars arrived last month.

US electric-car maker Tesla was Australia’s seventh best-selling new-car maker last month – outselling Subaru, Volkswagen, Isuzu and other established brands – after a wave of new arrivals ended months of stock shortages.

VFACTS industry sales data released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries lists 3397 Tesla vehicles as delivered last month – placing it in seventh on the sales charts, behind Ford, but ahead of the likes of Subaru, Volkswagen, Isuzu and all other luxury brands.

The figure is Tesla’s best since it began reporting sales (referring to deliveries, not orders taken) data to the FCAI in March – and push it towards beating its best annual sales on record, of 12,094 cars set last year.

Since the start of this year, it has reported 8054 vehicles as delivered – slotting it into 18th, behind Audi and Honda.

Behind the record result was the arrival of seven shipments of new Tesla cars from the brand’s factory in China between late July and late August – including the Model 3 sedan, and the first customer examples of the Model Y SUV.

Tesla’s previous record for new vehicle arrivals stood at four shipments in the span of three months. In the two weeks between late July and August 13, five shipments docked in Australian ports.

The Model 3 sedan was the top seller, with 2380 examples reported as delivered – the second-best monthly sales result for an electric car on record, behind the 3097 Model 3s sold in March, and enough to make it Australia’s best-selling passenger car last month.

Only two other passenger cars placed in the Top 10, the Toyota Corolla (2115) and Hyundai i30 (1975) hatchbacks.

Meanwhile, 1017 Model Y SUVs reached buyers – enough to become the nation’s best-selling luxury SUV, with a deliveries figure more than double the second-placed BMW X3.

Powering the increase in deliveries were upgrades to Tesla’s Shanghai factory in July, which reports indicate is now capable of building up to 14,000 Model Ys and 7700 Model 3s per week for global markets.

It represents a turnaround from the five months prior, when COVID-19 lockdowns halted Tesla production in China through March and April – and only 240 cars were reported as delivered by Tesla in Australia between April and July 2022.

Tesla’s best result in monthly VFACTS reports to date came in March, when 3097 vehicles were reported to have reached customers.

Sales of electric vehicles in August stand at 4235 – 80 per cent of which were Teslas, and 56 per cent the Model 3 alone.

So far in 2022, 14,524 electric vehicles have been reported as sold – up 368 per cent compared to last year. Excluding Tesla – which did not report monthly sales figures last year – the sales increase is 109 per cent.

The Model 3’s 2380 reported sales in August add to the 4657 delivered since the start of the year – for a total of 7037.

The Tesla Model 3’s nearest electric-car rival is the Polestar 2 – albeit with ‘only’ 38 sales reported since the start of the year.

It remains to be seen if Tesla can continue its momentum in September – though social media posts suggests many more customers are still slated to take delivery this month.

While deliveries have ramped up, wait times remain on new Tesla vehicles, with the company’s website indicating Model 3 and Model Y orders placed today are estimated to lead to delivery between February and May 2023.

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