Tesla Model 3 was Australia's top-selling passenger car in January

Price cuts and ample supply drove the Tesla Model 3 electric sedan to a huge delivery result in January, with 2927 of them getting into customer hands.

As such, the Model 3 was the top-selling passenger vehicle in the market and number-three in monthly sales overall – behind only the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger utes.

It’s the highest-ever finish for an EV in the Australian market.

The Model 3 also drove overall EV sales to a 5.7 per cent total market share, almost double the overall EV share figure from calendar year 2022.

Tesla recently cut Model 3 prices all over the world, with its Australian arm slashing between $1600 and $3100 from the sticker on January 6, pulling down the entry price to $63,900.

There also appears to be good supply from the Shanghai plant, with Tesla Australia’s site advising delivery windows of between February and May across all versions.

The Model Y is more supply-constrained however, managing only 386 January deliveries. The crossover is subject to current delivery windows of April to June.

We don’t have the full EV sales data by model for January, but results for key standalone EV models (meaning models without ICE versions) are as follows:

• Tesla Model 3 – 2927
• Tesla Model Y – 386
• BYD Atto 3 – 267
• Polestar 2 – 164
• Volvo C40 – 127
• BMW iX – 95
• Kia EV6 – 44
• Nissan Leaf – 39
• Audi e-tron GT – 33
• Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 30
• Mercedes-Benz EQC – 23

Overall top 10 for January 2023

1. Ford Ranger – 4749
2. Toyota HiLux – 4131
3. Tesla Model 3 – 2927
4. Mazda CX-3 – 2417
5. Mazda CX-5 – 2189
6. Toyota RAV4 – 1958
7. Isuzu D-Max – 1843
8. MG ZS – 1842
9. Mitsubishi Outlander – 1674
10. Toyota LandCruiser – 1631

MORE: Australia’s top-selling EVs in 2022