“With just one month to go, 2023 will likely be remembered as the year electric vehicles broke into the South Australian mainstream,” Motor Trade Association SA/NT CEO Darrell Jacobs said.

So far, 3974 EVs have been sold in SA for 2023.

Tesla accounted for 1831 sales, China’s BYD 903 and Polestar 40.

But BYD is nipping at Tesla’s heels, with the 114 sold in November falling only one behind Tesla’s 115.

Overall, nearly 72,000 new cars have been sold in SA this year – a 12 per cent increase on the 63,724 sold at the same time last year.

Toyota’s Hilux was the state’s top-selling vehicle for 2023 with 3439 leaving showrooms, followed by Ford’s Ranger on 3345.

Toyota’s RAV4 came third with 2049 sales, with Mitsubishi’s Outlander fourth at 2014 and Isuzu’s D-Max fifth with 1979.

Nationally, more than 112,000 vehicles were sold in November alone, capping what the industry called an “extraordinary” year.

November car sales soared by almost 18 per cent compared to 2022, with an average 663 new cars registered a day.

SUVs continue to reign, making up more than half of all sales with numbers rising by 19 per cent from last year.

Light commercial vehicles and ute sales jumped by 24 per cent, with passenger car sales up 10 per cent.

Tesla’s Model Y became the fourth best-selling vehicle for the month, returning to the top 10 after a brief drop in popularity and supply.

Its return capped a positive month for electric vehicle sales around Australia, with more than 8600 sold during November and more than 80,000 sold throughout 2023, which is 52,120 more than sold during the same period last year.

Hybrid vehicle sales also experienced a sales jump in 2023, with more than 9600 claimed in November and more than 88,000 during the year.

– with AAP

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