We’re now a quarter of a way into 2024, providing the first major marker for this year’s new-car sales race.
Record deliveries have grabbed the headlines, and the electric vehicle (EV) market continues to grow, now accounting for eight per cent of all new cars, SUVs, utes and vans sold in Australia.
Despite subsidies being pulled in New South Wales and Victoria, the segment has grown by 46.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, with 25,468 EVs registered in Australia between January and March 2024.
It should be no surprise that Tesla – the world’s EV leader – accounts for the lion’s share, with its Model Y SUV and facelifted Model 3 sedan combining for 12,789 sales, or a hair more than 50 per cent of all battery-powered vehicle sales locally.
Sales of the Model Y have increased by 115 per cent above the first quarter of 2023, despite a ship understood to be carrying a large shipment of the best-selling EV being turned back to China earlier this year for quarantine.
The BYD Atto 3 is still hanging on in third on 2220 sales, though the Chinese brand’s new Model 3-rivalling Seal sedan is closing the gap on 1573 deliveries, having surpassed the MG 4 hatchback which now holds the fifth spot.
Despite being closely priced to the MG 4, the BYD Dolphin has about half the sales of its fellow Chinese rival with 688 examples delivered so far this year, only just ahead of the more expensive Kia EV6 (589 sales).
The remaining top 10 spots are filled by the Hyundai Kona Electric (502 sales), the BMW iX1 (476 sales) and the Volvo XC40 Recharge (444 sales).
Polestar – the quasi spinoff of Volvo – sits behind the XC40 Recharge with its mechanically related Polestar 2.
The Polestar 2 is also close to being overtaken by the Toyota bZ4X, the Japanese car giant’s highly anticipated first EV which began its local rollout in February.
The GWM Ora could rise up the charts from its current 16th position within the next quarter, after nationwide drive-away pricing announced this week made it the cheapest EV in Australia again, now starting from $35,990.
In terms of how much the EV variants of certain models are helping its nameplate’s sales, the LDV eT60 ute remains a low contributor for the brand, with the five examples sold this year accounting for just 2.7 per cent of the dual-cab’s local deliveries.
Other EVs which are niche variants of a wider model range include the Mini Cooper SE (3.1 per cent of Mini Cooper sales), the MG ZS EV (4.6 per cent of ZS sales) and the Ford E-Transit (5.5 per cent of Transit sales).
| Model | Sales (Q1 2024) | EV models’ share of model sales |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y | 6835 | 100 per cent |
| Tesla Model 3 | 5954 | 100 per cent |
| BYD Atto 3 | 2220 | 100 per cent |
| BYD Seal | 1573 | 100 per cent |
| MG 4 | 1335 | 100 per cent |
| BYD Dolphin | 688 | 100 per cent |
| Kia EV6 | 589 | 100 per cent |
| Hyundai Kona Electric | 502 | 12.5 per cent |
| BMW iX1 | 476 | 44.9 per cent |
| BMW i4 | 457 | 61.1 per cent |
| Volvo XC40 Recharge | 444 | 47.7 per cent |
| Polestar 2 | 348 | 100 per cent |
| Toyota bZ4X | 311 | 100 per cent |
| MG ZS EV | 295 | 4.6 per cent |
| BMW iX3 | 290 | 37.5 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV | 290 | 100 per cent |
| GWM Ora | 282 | 100 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz EQA | 258 | 100 per cent |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 244 | 100 per cent |
| Kia Niro EV | 222 | 54.5 per cent |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E | 168 | 100 per cent |
| Kia EV9 | 156 | 100 per cent |
| Cupra Born | 153 | 100 per cent |
| Subaru Solterra | 145 | 100 per cent |
| Volvo C40 Recharge | 135 | 100 per cent |
| Porsche Taycan | 126 | 100 per cent |
| BMW iX | 121 | 100 per cent |
| Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 96 | 100 per cent |
| Fiat 500e and Abarth 500e | 84 | 56.8 per cent |
| Renault Megane E-Tech | 81 | 100 per cent |
| Nissan Leaf | 78 | 100 per cent |
| Audi Q8 e-tron | 66 | 100 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz EQB | 56 | 100 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz EQC | 52 | 100 per cent |
| Lexus RZ450e | 49 | 100 per cent |
| Audi e-tron GT | 44 | 100 per cent |
| BMW i5 | 42 | 24.1 per cent |
| Peugeot e-2008 | 40 | 54.8 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz EQE (sedan) | 36 | 100 per cent |
| BMW iX2 | 29 | 19.3 per cent |
| LDV eDeliver 7 | 28 | 100 per cent |
| Peugeot e-Partner | 26 | 16.8 per cent |
| Genesis GV60 | 20 | 100 per cent |
| Lexus UX300e | 20 | 40.8 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV | 19 | 100 per cent |
| Ford E-Transit | 15 | 5.5 per cent |
| Mini Cooper SE | 15 | 3.1 per cent |
| BMW i7 | 8 | 57.1 per cent |
| LDV eT60 | 5 | 2.7 per cent |
| Rolls-Royce Spectre | 5 | 100 per cent |
| Genesis GV70 Electrified | 4 | 1.8 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz EQV | 4 | 100 per cent |
| Jaguar I-Pace | 3 | 100 per cent |
| Mazda MX-30 | 3 | 100 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz eVito | 3 | 42.8 per cent |
| Renault Kangoo Z.E | 3 | 100 per cent |
| Mercedes-Benz EQS (liftback) | 2 | 100 per cent |
| Genesis G80 Electrified | 1 | 5.5 per cent |