The Tesla Model Y has officially made history as the first electric vehicle (EV) to lead global sales for a period. According to JATO data, which Motor1 compiled, the Model Y was the best-selling car in the world in Q1 2023.
The JATO data takes sales data for 53 markets, including estimates and key market information, to provide global numbers. Naturally, this does not include every vehicle market, but it does give a good sense of the top markets from around the world.
The top-selling vehicles were dominated by Toyota, with four of the top five vehicles from the Japanese automaker. But at the top of the charts was the Model Y, with an estimated 267,200 sales globally in the first three months of the year. If Tesla is able to sustain this rate, which it should with Giga Texas and Giga Berlin both continuing to ramp production, the Model Y is on track for well over 1 million sales in 2023.
| Tesla Model Y | 267,200 |
| Toyota Corolla | 256,400 |
| Toyota Hilux | 214,700 |
| Toyota RAV4/Wildlander | 211,000 |
| Toyota Camry | 166,200 |
The Toyota Corolla, Toyota Hilux and Toyota RAV4 (or Wildlander in some markets) all sold over 200,000 vehicles, with the Corolla roughly 21,000 vehicles short of the Tesla Model Y. However, the Corolla has seen a sizable drop in vehicles sold in 2023, with a 29 per cent decrease in China and a ten per cent decrease in the United States.
It will be interesting to track if the Model Y can keep its lead over the Toyota, as Q2 numbers should be coming out over the next few weeks. One thing is clear, the Model Y is breaking records and is on its way to become the best selling car in the world in 2023, something which Elon Musk predicted would happen even before the electric SUV had officially started deliveries.
