Tesla EV sales plummet in Australia as China brands grow

Elon Musk’s Tesla is facing its toughest test yet in Australia and it all comes down to one thing.

Tesla’s Australian electric vehicle sales remain in free fall after November became the eighth-straight month of year-on-year sales decline for Elon Musk’s autogiant amid a growing wave of competition from Chinese rivals.

Tesla sold 2540 vehicles in Australia in November, according to data released by the Electric Vehicle Council, resulting in a sales decline of 35.5 per cent compared to the same time last year.

Tesla hasn’t recorded year-on-year growth in Australia since March when it sold 6017 vehicles for a 68.2 per cent increase on the same time period in 2023.

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Elon Musk’s Tesla is facing declining sales in Australia’s competitive EV market. Picture: AFP

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The continued decline in November follows hot on the heels of the MG 4 becoming the first EV in Australia to outsell both the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 in a month since the EVC began tracking sales.

MG Motor Australia’s success in October is just one example of how Tesla’s dominance in the EV market is slowly being eroded by newcomers.

While MG might have been founded in the UK in the 1920s, it has been controlled by Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor since 2007, and, along with other brands like BYD, Zeekr, Leapmotor and XPeng, has been tearing holes in Tesla’s market share by offering cheaper alternatives.

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The MG 4 might have wrapped up the limited-time $30,990 drive-away pricing that saw it surpass Tesla for sales but it remains AUstralia’s cheapest EV on the market with a December price tag of $32,990 drive-away.

Other MG options range in price up to $42,990 drive-away compared to the Tesla Model 3’s cost of $59,822 drive-away or $60,872 drive-away for the Model Y.

“MG saw an incredible response to the pricing offers on the MG4 in October,” MG Motor Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher said.

“Across the MG4 range, buyers can own a fantastic car, backed by our industry-leading 10-year warranty and a five-star ANCAP safety rating.”

Tesla, however, will remain Australia’s best-selling EV maker of 2024 despite its stumbles.

Tesla has delivered 34,754 vehicles in Australia so far this year, with the Model Y remaining its vehicle of choice among consumers and accounting for 65 per cent of Tesla’s November sales.

The Tesla drop hasn’t been all good news for rival Chinese brands though, with much of the market shifting from straight EVs to hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles instead.

This move has resulted in a general cooling of the EV market across Australia as more consumers flock to the safety net that traditional fuel sources offer.