BYD beats Tesla to major sales milestone in Australia

BYD’s local distributor EVDirect says it has notched up 40,000 sales less than three years after the brand arrived in Australia and is projecting a further 40,000 sales this year alone.

Although the figures are yet to be officially verified in March’s national vehicle sales data, set to be released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries later this week, the announcement indicates that BYD has flown past Tesla to achieve the feat.

Tesla is understood to have recorded 40,000 total sales in the second half of 2022, nearly eight years after the brand officially opened its first showrooms Down Under with the Model S sedan and later the Model X. Both models have now been discontinued for Australia.

Sales for Tesla in Australia didn’t take off until 2019 when it debuted its popular Model 3, followed by the Model Y in 2022, the latter remaining Australia’s most popular EV.

Last year, Tesla sales dipped to 38,347 cars following a record 46,116 in 2023. As of February this year it has sold 2331 cars, a 65.6 per cent decline on the previous year.

Since arriving locally in 2022 with the electric Atto 3 SUV, BYD expanded its model range more aggressively than Tesla, now including plug-in hybrids in its line-up. It's a strategy EVDirect CEO David Smitherman said is responsible for BYD’s swift rise.

“What we’re providing Australian customers is a choice they haven’t previously been able to enjoy. With the Shark 6, Sealion 7, and soon the Essentials range, we’re introducing new vehicles in segments and at price points never seen before,” said Smitherman.

The Essentials range, which includes new entry-level grades for the Dolphin and Atto 3, are stripped-back versions of their respective models, with less standard features but a considerably lower entry price.

For example, the Dolphin Essential is the first EV in Australia to be offered at less than $30,000, before on-road costs.

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Sales are only expected to climb for BYD as it continues its product assault on Australia with its Denza sub-brand later this year, which includes the B9, a plug-in hybrid Toyota Prado-rivalling SUV.

The future is a little less clear for Tesla, with its polarising CEO Elon Musk turning many prospective buyers in Australia, the US and Europe off the brand with his controversial role as an advisor to the Trump administration.

In the US, Tesla shares have lost 50 per cent of their value since they peaked at US$479 a share on the Nasdaq last December, while this month, BYD announced it officially exceeded Tesla in revenue last year at $170 billion, approximately $15.5 billion more than Tesla.

The updated Model Y, which is set to arrive in Australian showrooms by May, could add some life to the embattled brand, with Tesla Australia confirming the Launch Edition allocation for Australia has already been exhausted. Exactly how many units that entails, though, remains unclear.

BYD has been nipping at the heels of Tesla on the global market since the end of 2023, when it briefly usurped it as the world’s best-selling EV brand before Tesla reclaimed the title in the first quarter of 2024.

2025 could officially be the year that Tesla loses its EV crown, with the brand going all out on alternative markets as it finds itself locked out of the US due to a blanket 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese cars.