Australia’s best-selling electric cars of 2023: Every model listed

Australians bought two and a half times more electric vehicles in 2023 than the year prior – for a total close to 90,000 – amid the arrival of a wave of new, more affordable models.

Data published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries reports 87,217 electric vehicles as sold in 2023, up 161.1 per cent on the 33,410 reported as sold the year prior – in a market up 12.5 per cent.

Tesla reported 46,116 deliveries, up 135 per cent on the prior year, and accounted for 52.9 per cent of electric cars sold – though it is down on last year’s 59 per cent share as new models from other brands enter the market.

More than 80 per cent of electric cars sold were manufactured in China, led by Tesla and models from domestic Chinese brands BYD and MG.

Hybrid cars remain more popular – dominated by Toyota, which accounted for 72 per cent of hybrid vehicles sold – but the 98,439 examples delivered represents growth of only 20.3 per cent.

Plug-in hybrids added a further 11,212 vehicles to the total – up 88.8 per cent – plus six hydrogen cars.

The Tesla Model Y SUV was the top-selling electric vehicle with 28,769 deliveries (up 230 per cent), and placed sixth overall on the sales charts when petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles are included.

The Model Y was the third best-selling passenger car or SUV in the country – behind the petrol or hybrid Toyota RAV4, and petrol MG ZS – after finishing as high as second overall in the sales charts in some months.

In second place on the electric-car leaderboard was the Tesla Model 3 sedan with 17,347 deliveries (up 59 per cent), followed by the BYD Atto 3 SUV with 11,042 deliveries (up 423 per cent) in its first full calendar year on sale.

Sales of non-Tesla electric cars grew by 197.5 per cent – compared to the US car giant’s 135 per cent increase – as new models entered the market.

Among them, the MG 4 electric hatchback from China – priced from $38,990 plus on-road costs – commenced sales in August but clocked-up 3134 deliveries by the end of the year, placing it fourth on the full-year charts.

In the fourth quarter of 2023 (October to December), the MG 4 was less than 150 cars behind the BYD Atto 3 in the battle for third place.

The MG 4 outsold its two electric hatchback rivals, also available for less than $40,000 plus on-road costs – the BYD Dolphin, which reported 925 sales since the first cars were delivered in October, and the GWM Ora, which reported 526 deliveries since the first mid-year.

Sales continued to decline for MG’s other electric car, the ZS EV small SUV, which recorded just 438 sales in the fourth quarter of 2023, down from 569 in the third quarter (July to September) and 871 in the second quarter (April to June).

It recorded a total of 2794 sales in 2023, which is up from the 1119 sold in 2023 – though its quarterly sales show a downwards trend. The ZS EV was the top-selling non-Tesla electric vehicle in 2021; today it is sixth.

For the second year in a row the best-selling electric vehicle not built in China was the Kia EV6, reporting 1831 sales, up 225 per cent on its 2022 result.

About 83 per cent of electric vehicles reported as sold in 2023 were made in China – compared to 15.9 per cent for the total market – and electric cars make up 37 per cent of all Chinese-car sales in Australia.