EV sales March 2024: One in five passenger cars sold are now electric 

EV sales in March kept abreast with February, with one in ten vehicles sold powered by battery alone. Also, for the first quarter of 2024, almost one in five passenger cars sold were electric, constituting 18.9% of total sales. That's significant but it's also important to note that passenger cars represent only 15 per cent of the broader market.
 
Within the SUV segment, which makes up 60% of the broader market, electric SUVs accounted for 14.4% of total SUV sales. In stark contrast, only 0.1 per cent of utes were electric.

It’s also the first time in 44 months that two out of three of the top three most popular vehicles for the month were not utes (see further down for why.) In August 2020, the Toyota RAV4 hit the number one spot while the Mazda CX-5 sat at number three.

Now, there is one all-electric and a fair proportion of hybrids sitting at number three and number two respectively (we are waiting to hear from Toyota on what proportion of RAV4 sales were hybrids but historically they sell well.)

This is according to the latest new car sales figures from Vfacts – and for the first time, the Electric Vehicle Council, representing Tesla and Polestar which will leave the Federal Chambers of Automotive Industries (FCAI) after a spat over support for a New Vehicle Emissions Standard (NVES). The figures represent deliveries rather than deposits, and can reflect seasonal production and shipping patterns.

Tesla market performance and industry impacts

Tesla didn’t quite break its own record – that was in June 2023, when it delivered almost 7000 EVs in one month.

But Tesla did break the 6000 mark, placing the Model Y back into third place across the broader auto market after only the Ford Ranger and Toyota RAV4. This put it in sixth place for the month – its highest finishing place yet - and ninth place year-to-date.

Though the Tesla Model Y did manage to outsell the Toyota Hilux, we note the pause in shipping of Toyota’s diesel Hilux, Prado and Landcruiser due to discrepancies in engine emissions mapping.

But it's still a trend that we may see increasingly more now that the NVES will pass into legislation, ensuring carmakers introduce more zero and low emissions options to the market (even though certain ladder-framed large SUVs will sit under the same eased restrictions as light commercial vehicles, aka utes.)

Tesla held both top spots for the month, delivering 4379 Model Ys and 1638 Model 3s – a reversal of last month as the sought-after 2024 Tesla Model 3 Highland hit the shores.

BYD holds third and fourth place with the BYD Atto 3 (1044 sales for the month) and the BYD Seal (365 sales for the month.) The MG MG4 came in at number five with 352 sales for the month. 

We are waiting to confirm sales figures from other auto makers for models that share their names with fossil-fuelled counterparts. 

EV sales in the ACT dipped by 35 per cent in March compared to February, bringing the capital territory’s EV market share down a notch from one-in-four to one-in-five. NSW remained steady at 11 per cent – a little over one-in-ten. Victoria’s EV sales ramped up a little, with 500 extra sales compared to the previous month.

Queensland also increased its EV market share for the month, upping it from 8.4 per cent in February to 9.2 per cent in March – an extra 275 electric vehicles on the road.  

With more detailed data provided by Tesla and Polestar to the EVC, for the first time we have solid figures on which variants customers prefer.

Out of 12789 vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2024, Tesla sold 5427 Tesla Model Y RWD, 1245 Long Range variants and 163 Performance variants. In contrast, just 9 Tesla Model 3 Performance variants were sold, along with 3766 Model 3 RWD and 2179 Long Range variants.

Meanwhile, Polestar has sold 192 2024 Standard Range RWD Polestar 2s, 106 2024 Long Range variants and 50 2023 Standard Range FWD (the latter being old inventory, as both Volvo and Polestar have updated the drivetrain of the Polestar 2 and XC40 Recharge to rear-wheel-drive.)

Three EV brands – Tesla, MG and GWM – have all dropped prices significantly in recent days.

The GWM Ora is now the most affordable EV in Australia, priced from $35,990 driveaway. MG introduced nationwide driveaway pricing for its entire electric rangein March, slashing prices by up to $9000.

The latest is Tesla, which today dropped Model Y pricing across the range by up to $8500, and Model 3 Long Range pricing by $1000.

Price cuts for these popular EVs combined with the introduction of legislation to ensure more low and zero emissions vehicle supply are promising signs for the reduction of Australia's transport emissions as it aims to meet Net Zero 2050 goals.