The Tesla Model Y continues to break records, this time becoming the UK’s top selling car for the first time.
The June numbers reported by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show 5,539 Tesla Model Y’s were sold in the UK in June followed by ICE vehicles Ford Puma with 5,453 and the Vauxhall Corsa with 4,146.
Overall, EV sales also grew significantly in the UK with 31,700 fully electric vehicles sold in June 2023, up 39.4% year-on-year from 22,737 in June 2022.
Interestingly Model Y sales in Australia were 21 units higher than the UK figure in June at 5,560 despite Australia having a population 2.5 times smaller than the UK. The Model Y leapfrogged the Ford Ranger into second spot on the top selling vehicles list for June in Australia.
Electric vehicle market share also hit another record in Australia reaching 8.8% in June, up from 7.7% in May. Including Model 3 sales, Tesla sold 7,018 EVs in June taking a staggering 64% of the Australian EV market.
Comments from VW suggested that the demand problem was caused by reduced subsidies for EV buyers in Europe and the impact of inflation however these factors haven’t slowed Tesla sales growth suggesting VW’s problems lie more with their own models than an imagined general EV demand slump.
Toyota too produced just 8000 electric vehicles in the first half of 2023, making up just 0.19% of its total production as the company continues to send mixed messages about its future. Earlier this week new details emerged from Toyota’s recent general meeting in which one shareholder asked “Can Toyota beat Tesla?”
