Australia’s Electric Vehicle Market Sees Significant Shift
The Australian electric vehicle (EV) market has witnessed a substantial change with BYD’s Sealion 7 surpassing Tesla’s Model Y to become the country’s best-selling electric car. This development comes as Tesla prepares to launch an updated Model Y, significantly impacting current model sales.
April proved disastrous for Tesla, with sales dropping 76% compared to the same period last year, resulting in just 500 deliveries. The Tesla Model Y, which had been Australia’s top-selling EV since 2023, fell to eighth place with 280 sales. In contrast, the BYD Sealion 7 achieved 743 sales, securing the top spot.
The MG4 took second place with 363 sales, closely followed by the BYD Atto 3 (355), Kia EV5 (342), and Kia EV3 (336). The competitive nature of the EV market was evident with only 39 units separating second place from seventh.
Overall, Australian EV sales declined 44.2% in April compared to the same month in 2024, totaling 6010 registrations according to VFACTS and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) data. This downturn was partly attributed to the removal of the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) exemption for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which saw sales plummet from 6932 units in March to 2601 in April.
BYD continued to dominate the PHEV segment with the Shark 6 ute leading sales at 1293 units, despite a significant drop from March’s 2810. The Sealion 6 followed with 275 sales.
The hybrid vehicle market also experienced a decline, with sales dropping 6% to 14,288 compared to April 2024. Toyota maintained its stronghold with the RAV4, Corolla, Corolla Cross, and Camry occupying the top four spots.
Hyundai made significant inroads against Toyota with the Tucson, Kona, and Santa Fe featuring in the top 10 hybrid sales chart. The changing landscape in Australia’s electrified vehicle market reflects both challenges and opportunities as manufacturers adapt to new regulations and consumer preferences.
