The launch of the Model Y in New Zealand helped propel Tesla to near the top of the sales charts last month, making it the top selling electric vehicle (EV) brand and the fourth best selling car brand overall for the month of August.
According to data from New Zealand’s Motor Industry Association (MIA), Tesla delivered 1,326 units in the country last month, good enough for a 12% market share in August.
The majority of those new deliveries were of the Model 3 (745 units), while the Model Y accounted for the remaining 581 units after the first deliveries took place earlier in the month.
That was enough to make it the fourth best selling car brand in New Zealand, behind only Toyota (15%, 1,630 units), Kia (14%, 1,574 units), and Mitsubishi (12%, 1,265 units).
Not only was the Model 3 the best selling EV in the country, it was also the third best selling car model overall even which including internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, a surprising fact considering New Zealander’s love for SUVs.
That was shown by the fact the electric sedan was only beaten by the Ford Ranger (934 units) and the Toyota Hilux (897 units).
The strong performance from Tesla also helped push the EV market share in New Zealand up to 23% of new vehicle sales in August. In total 10,940 passenger cars and SUVs were sold last month, of which 2,577 were fully electric.
The next most popular EV behind the Model 3 and Model Y was the BYD Atto, which registered 448 sales last month.
