Price war helps electric vehicle sales rebound in May, as BYD eats into Tesla market share

The sales of electric vehicles in Australia has seen a resurgence in the month of May, driven in part by significant price cuts by a number of major car makers, with Chinese brands making inroads on the traditional dominance of market leader Tesla.

The latest data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 8,974 full-battery electric cars were sold in Australia in May. This was a huge rise from the 6,194 sales during the last month in April and was up from 8,124 sales seen in May 2023.

With this sales data, EVs made up 8.1% of all vehicles sold in the country. This is a solid result but is below sales records seen in February and March this year when EV uptake was above 9.5% in both months.

Looking at the whole market, some 111,099 vehicles were sold, making it a record sales month for May.

Tesla led the way in EV sales with its Model 3 becoming Australia’s best-selling EV in the month. It took the crown with 1,958 sales, overtaking Model Y SUV, which took second spot with 1,609 sales in May. That brought a total of 3,567 sales for the brand, or just 40 per cent of the EV market.

Tesla’s market share has usually been above 60 per cent, but Chinese car makers, led by BYD, are eating into that share. BYD recorded strong sales from the new BYD Seal, and now has an 18 per cent share of the EV market, and is growing rapidly with three EVs available for sale and more to come.

BYD’s growth this year has been 67 per cent, but Tesla’s overall EV market share has fallen 0.7 per cent in the five months to May, compared to 2023.

The BYD Seal saw impressive sales (1,002 sales), as did the BYD Atto 3 (737 sales) and MG4 (565 sales). The new Volvo EX30 also did well with 466 sales during the month. 

Model Y sales could see a rise in coming months with recent price cuts. The price of an RWD Model Y now starts at under $56,000 before on-roads, making it the cheapest it’s ever been. But other car makers have also been slashing the price of their electric offerings.

The best-selling EVs in May 2024 were:

• Tesla Model 3 – 1,958 sales
• Tesla Model Y – 1,609 sales
• BYD Seal – 1,002 sales
• BYD Atto 3 – 737 sales
• MG MG4 – 565 sales
• Volvo EX30 – 466 sales
• BMW i4 – 198 sales
• Kia EV6 – 181 sales
• BYD Dolphin – 175 sales
• Mercedes-Benz EQA – 172 sales
• Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 120 sales
• GWM Ora – 116 sales
• Toyota bZ4X – 73 sales
• Hyundai Ioniq 6 – 66 sales
• Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV – 60 sales
• Kia e-Niro – 60 sales
• Volvo C40 recharge – 50 sales
• Kia EV9 – 49 sales
• Subaru Solterra – 45 sales
• Nissan Leaf – 38 sales
• BMW iX – 34 sales
• Cupra Born – 31 sales
• Ford Mustang Mach-E – 30 sales
• Renault Megane E-Tech – 25 sales
• Mercedes-Benz EQB – 22 sales
• Mercedes-Benz EQE – 22 sales
• Porsche Taycan – 22 sales
• Lexus RZ – 20 sales
• Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV – 19 sales
• Audi e-tron – 15 sales
• Audi e-tron GT – 7 sales
• Genesis GV60 – 7 sales
• Mercedes-Benz EQC – 6 sales
• BMW i7 – 2 sales
• Jaguar I-Pace – 1 sale

The Driven is waiting to hear back from various manufacturers for sales of some EV models and this list will be updated once they’re received. Polestar sales are now shared by the electric vehicle council and will also be added once available.

Given over 40,000 EVs have already hit the road in 2024 and plenty of new models to come, EV sales this year will likely exceed 100,000 as the nation prepares for the highly anticipated fuel-emission standards that kick off early next year.