US-based electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has sold more than $60 million worth of cars into the ACT this year, and last month continued to lead the new vehicle market for the fifth consecutive month.
Electric cars outsold diesel-powered vehicles in the ACT during May, with the Tesla Model Y the runaway new car top-seller overall with 122 sales for the month. The Model 3, with 81 sales, was the second-best seller in the territory.
One in every five new cars sold in the ACT last month - almost 20 per cent when including BYD, MG, Polestar, BMW and Cupra EVs - were battery electric, compared with 7.7 per cent across the rest of Australia. One in every three were either electric, hybrid or plug-in hybrid.
Nationally, sales of electrified vehicles (battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid) made up 15.6 per cent of the May market.
The brakes were applied on May 24 to one of the ACT government's biggest market incentives for owners to switch to electric vehicles in a move opposed by the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, which says the move will particularly disadvantage those buying a second-hand EV.
The association says the free registration incentive "solidified purchasing decisions for those seeking options in the more affordable market segment".
Owners who purchased an EV two years ago and took advantage of the offer will now have to pay $329.40 plus compulsory motor accident insurance (the ACT's equivalent of compulsory third party) and administrative costs.
However, Access Canberra has confirmed any EV purchased between May 24, 2021 and June 30 next year will still be entitled to the full two years free rego.
Under the ACT transition to an emissions and distance-based registration system, from July 1 next year the free rego scheme will be wound up completely.
The 2023 surge in Tesla sales - and battery-electric cars generally - has resulted in China becoming the second-largest source of new vehicles for the ACT market, growing 187 per cent in volume this year compared with same five months last year.
Nationally, the car industry reported record May sales of 105,694 vehicles, 2.7 per cent higher than the previous best May sales.
Outside Canberra, the best-selling vehicle across the country was the Toyota Hilux utility, followed by the Ford Ranger. The Tesla Model Y was the nation's third best-seller, with 3178 deliveries to customers, ahead of the Toyota RAV4.
The Canberra-based vehicle industry lobby group, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, reported the backlog of vehicle orders experienced during mid-to-late 2022 was still having an "push-forward" effect, although the recent shift in economic conditions, with rising costs of living and interest rates, is expected to dampen demand in the last half of this year.
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