Australia's most popular electric cars in 2023

The Tesla Model Y took the top spot in Australia's biggest year of electric vehicle sales yet.

With 20 all-new or heavily overhauled electric models launched in 2023 and an overall sales record set, it's hardly a surprise that there were more electric cars registered in Australia than ever before.

But a volume increase of 161% over last year to 87,217 is still a massive achievement for battery-electric vehicles. Of the 1,216,780 new cars registered, 7.2% were electric, following the combined hybrid and plug-in hybrid share of 9.0%.

The majority of electric cars sold here were built in China with Tesla, BYD, MG, Volvo, GWM, Polestar (and even BMW's iX3) all hailing from the battery-producing powerhouse.

The next biggest producers were Korea and countries in the European Union, both with just under 600 cars sold in Australia, with America and Japan bringing up the rear.

Though electric vehicles experienced significant growth throughout 2023, combustion-engined and hybrid vehicles remained very much the default choice for Australian families.

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The updated 2024 Tesla Model 3

What's to come in 2024?

This year will be even bigger for electric vehicles with not only new models from fresh faces such as the BYD Seal U and others, but also a significant push from established carmakers.

Volkswagen, Toyota, and Subaru will all launch their first electric vehicles here, and when they do the sales figures will reveal just how much fresh faces have changed the new car landscape. There's also a new entrant confirmed in Cadillac which will be electric-only in Australia.

On the policy side, the government is expected to detail its fuel efficiency standards this year which will do its bit in shaping the sales landscape – expect incentives to ditch high-emitting vehicles for hybrids and EVs though how powerful the legislation will be remans to be seen.

Tesla takes top two spots with ease

By the end of 2023, Tesla comfortably delivered the most electric vehicles of any brand.

Not only was Tesla the best-selling EV brand, but it registered more cars in 2023 than Subaru (46,116 vs 46,114), despite only offering two models.

The Model Y (28,769 🥇) led last year's numbers ahead of the Model 3 (16,506 🥈). Neither car set records in December alone, with the SUV's 1351 deliveries and sedan's 841 not demonstrating the usual commanding lead over rivals.

The BYD Atto 3 (11,042 🥉) found 756 homes in the last month of the year cementing a solid third spot ahead of MG's relative newcomer, the 4 hatch (3134 YTD, 607 in December) that ought to perform even better this year with a full 12 months in dealerships.

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Getting in the family-sized EV game early continues to pay dividends for Volvo, which nabbed fifth place for the year with its XC40 Recharge Pure Electric (2846 for 2023, 197 in December).

We are still awaiting MG's official ZS EV sales figures, so the figure you see for December (100 sales) is calculated from its historical slice of the ICE model's sales.

Following the ZS was the Polestar 2 (2463) with a strong December showing 405 deliveries – likely thanks to a combination of incentivised existing stock and excitement about the updated MY24 model.

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The Kia EV6 recorded 1831 deliveries in 2023 for eighth spot, a fair way ahead of the Mercedes-Benz EQA (1196) and 10th place Volvo C40 (1103).

Just missing out on top-10 honours was the Kia Niro (985), ahead of the BMW iX1* (947) and Hyundai Ioniq 5 (947).

December's Monthly figures give a better indication of what to expect this year – and it's BYD that'll be causing a nuisance for established top-10 players.

In December, the Seal sedan and Dolphin city car took fifth (471) and eighth (236) place respectively despite missing out on the year-to-date top 10; expect Build Your Dreams to build its momentum through 2024.

Top 10 best-selling electric vehicles in 2023

And the rest...

Best-sellers in December 2023