Tesla Australia sales in 2024 slid further than the rest of the world

Deliveries of Tesla electric cars in Australia declined over a calendar year for the first time on record in 2024 – down 17 per cent – despite significant price cuts of up to $9500.

Data published today by the Electric Vehicle Council reports 38,347 new Tesla electric cars as delivered locally in 2024, down from 46,120 reported by the lobby group for the year prior – but up from 19,594 in 2022.

December 2024 sales were up 63 per cent on the same month last year – to 3593 vehicles – but it followed eight months of consecutive decline, and nine in the past 12 months.

MORE: Tesla records first-ever decline in annual global deliveries

The sales decline in Australia is more significant than the 1 per cent slip in global deliveries reported overnight, and both are the first reductions in vehicle hand-overs on record in each respective region.

Sales of electric vehicles has hit a speed bump locally after years of record growth, coinciding with a general slowdown in new-car demand of all types amid a worsening economy.

However, Tesla declines are outpacing the rest of the new-vehicle market, which – across all fuel types – is on course to match 2023’s record sales result.

At the end of November, the electric-car market was up 3.1 per cent year-to-date – with one month to go – but without Tesla, it would have been up 32 per cent.

Tesla is expected to remain the top seller of electric vehicles locally once data for the entire market is confirmed on Monday morning, but its share is forecast to have dropped – from 55 per cent to about 40 per cent, based on November data.

Model Y SUV deliveries were down 26 per cent in 2024 – from 28,769 to 21,253 sales – while the Model 3 sedan dipped by 1.5 per cent from 17,351 to 17,094 despite a substantial upgrade at the start of the year.

Tesla continued price reductions commenced in 2023 into 2024, cutting $9500 off the RRP of its most popular model – the Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive – in the span of two months across April and May.

The most affordable Model 3 dropped in price by $7000 over the same period.

MORE: Tesla slashes prices in Australia for third time in two months, up to $5000 off Model Y, Model 3

The US car giant is due to unveil an updated Model Y imminently – with refreshed styling and an overhauled interior – which, if history is a guide, is likely to commence local deliveries two to three months after its global debut.

Tesla now reports its Australian sales data through the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), after exiting the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) in early 2024 due to the industry body’s “demonstrably false” claims on how new-car emissions rules will affect vehicle prices.

The FCAI’s monthly new-vehicle sales reports list 46,116 Tesla cars as sold in 2023, compared to 46,120 in the EVC’s data, due to slight differences in how each tracks sales.

Tesla’s sales are much higher than those of Polestar, which Electric Vehicle Council data shows only reported 1713 deliveries in 2024, down from 2457 the year prior.

Tesla sales in Australia

Note: 2018, 2019 and 2020 figures are based on registration data exclusively sourced by Drive from state and territory authorities. 2021-onwards data formally published by Tesla through the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries or the Electric Vehicle Council.

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