Tesla is expected to announce a record sales result for August after new vehicle ship landings were tracked in Australia for the month.
Vedaprime, which tracks Tesla deliveries for customers for a fee, reports that seven ships have unloaded Teslas at various ports around the country in the past month.
Rough estimates based on shipping figures suggest the brand sold more than 4,000 cars in August.
That should land it in the top ten on the sales charts, despite only having two models, the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y SUV.
Bigger numbers are expected in September and experts believe the brand is on track to eclipse 25,000 sales per year.
If it does, it should outsell established brands like Honda, BMW and Audi.
Tesla is different from other manufacturers because its deliveries come in trickles or like a flood. In the first three months of this year, it sold 4,417 vehicles, but only 240 cars have since been sold due to Covid-related plant shutdowns in China and a global shortage of semiconductors.
Some customers have been waiting since January for Model 3 deliveries, creating a long backlog that is only now being filled.
Tesla dominates the electric vehicle market in Australia. Last year it sold more than 12,000 vehicles, while the other 50 brands sold just 4,597 between them.
The result will also boost the percentage of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles sold in Australia. Right now they represent about two percent of total sales, but by the end of the year it could rise to three percent.
The recent arrival of the Model Y SUV has given the brand a huge boost and is expected to comfortably outsell the Model 3 sedan, given the popularity of soft-roaders.
Tesla opened its order books for the Model Y in June and began deliveries earlier this month.
At the same time, it was able to restart shipments of its Model 3 after the Shanghai lockdown ended.
The sales momentum is likely to pick up further in the coming months as the federal government’s fringe benefit tax break for electric business cars passes parliament.
Leasing experts suggest the FBT waiver could make the Tesla cheaper than many conventional gasoline models over a four-year loan period.
While Tesla’s sales are booming, other manufacturers are struggling to secure adequate supplies of electric vehicles to meet buyer demand.
Hyundai has sold modest numbers of its respective EV6 and Ioniq 5 electric cars, just 346 each.
Market leader Toyota has yet to launch an EV, while second-place Mazda has sold fewer than 30 electric MX-30s.
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