Australians bought more electric cars in 2021 than ever before, but not as many as first reported thanks to a giant error.
Tesla had the best selling sedan in 2021, or so it seemed.
The American electric car maker revealed to the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) it sold more than 15,000 vehicles in 2021, leading many to report it had outsold established favourites such as the Toyota Camry and Mazda3.
But the very next day it revealed that wasn’t true.
Tesla’s sales were exaggerated by about 3000 vehicles, which means it was no longer the nation’s best-selling sedan.
The reason? The figures provided by Tesla to the EVC were for the past two years – not one.
A statement by the EVC read: “Yesterday the Electric Vehicle Council released the EV sales figures for 2021, which showed a massive leap from 2020 numbers. While the massive year-on-year leap reported was correct, there was an error in the numbers the EVC was provided relating to Tesla deliveries. Due to a human error, the Tesla delivery figures for 2020 were erroneously added to the delivery figures for 2021 by Tesla before the figure was provided to the EVC.”
The notoriously secretive Tesla has always been very cagey about its sales numbers in Australia.
It refused to provide official numbers publicly, until yesterday’s blunder.
Tesla boss Elon Musk also has a history of making big promises on Twitter about new products only to then break those promises further down the line.
Earlier this year it was revealed the long awaited Tesla Cybertruck and Roadster would not be making an appearance this year, compounding existing delays.
Despite the drop in official sales, it was still a banner year for the electric brand as it moved 12,094 Model 3s. This is more than eight times the next best selling electric car, the MG ZS EV.
The Tesla Model 3 starts at about $65,000 drive-away but this could drop below $60,000 with government incentives, which are available in several states.
The boom in Tesla sales helped push total EV sales to 20,665, which was 1.95 per cent of all new cars sold in 2021. This was a steep rise compared to 2020 when EVs accounted for less than one per cent of sales.
EVC boss, Behyad Jafari, says the boost in sales is being driven by the states.
“The penny has now well and truly dropped on how good electric vehicles are. Most people in the car market will now be considering an electric option. The role of government is to help them make the jump,” says Mr Jafari.
“It’s great that some state governments have received the global message, but at a national level we’re stuck in the past.”
Australia misses out on some of the world’s most popular electric cars because makers are prioritising markets with national emissions targets and incentives.
Volkswagen is one such company. It currently has no immediate plans to bring its award-winning ID.4 electric SUV and the affordable ID.3 hatchback to Australia. Both vehicles are extremely strong sellers in Europe.
TOP 10 SELLING ELECTRIC CARS AND PHEVS IN AUSTRALIA
1 Tesla Model 3 12,094
2 MG ZS 1388
3 Mitsubishi Outlander 592
4 MG HS 580
5 Porsche Taycan 531
6 Hyundai Kona 505
7 Volvo XC40 495
8 Hyundai Ioniq 407
9 Nissan Leaf 367
10 Mercedes-Benz EQA 367
Originally published as Best selling electric cars in Australia revealed
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