VFACTS January 2023: Tesla Model 3 Australia’s third-best selling new vehicle last month

Australia’s third-best selling new vehicle last month was the Tesla Model 3 sedan – which posted its second-best monthly sales on record.

The Tesla Model 3 was Australia’s third-best selling new motor vehicle outright last month – and the top-selling electric car – marking its best finishing position on record.

VFACTS industry sales data published today shows 2927 Tesla Model 3 sedans were reported as sold – referring to deliveries, not orders taken – in January 2023, accounting for two-thirds of all electric vehicles sold last month.

The strong sales result – thanks to the arrival of the largest Tesla vehicle shipment on record in December – is the second-best monthly sales on record for the Tesla Model 3, behind the first month of recorded sales, March 2022, when 3097 deliveries were reported.

However, its third-place finish – behind the Ford Ranger (4749) and Toyota HiLux (4131) utes, and ahead of the Mazda CX-3 (2417) – in the overall new-car sales charts is its best finishing position on record, beating its previous best of fifth last March.

A Tesla vehicle has only finished in the top three once before – the related Tesla Model Y SUV in September 2022, when 4369 deliveries were reported.

As the Model 3 shot up the sales charts, deliveries of the Model Y hit the brakes due to a gap in stock, with 386 sales reported – allowing it to just hold onto its lead in the mid-size SUV above $60,000 class, two cars ahead of the BMW X3 (384).

In total, 4852 electric vehicles were reported as sold in January 2023 – up 682 per cent on January 2022, or up 148 per cent if Tesla is excluded, as the US electric-car specialist did not report its monthly sales this time last year.

Among the sales results for other electric-vehicle models, highlights include 267 BYD Atto 3s, 164 Polestar 2s, 127 Volvo C40s, 39 Nissan Leafs, 33 Audi E-Tron GTs, 44 Kia EV6s, and 30 Hyundai Ioniq 5s.

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