Tesla Model Y to surpass Toyota Rav4 in global sales in 2023
Image: Tesla Australia
Tesla sales have taken off in Australia with Tesla Model 3 leading the charge in Australia. Tesla’s Model Y SUV has also been a success locally since its launch last year, but it’s real success has been in the strength of its global sales.
Now data for 2022 eveals just how successful the all-electric EV really is as it looks to overtake the Toyota Rav4 in sales this year.
Image: Sawyer Merritt on Twitter
Data compiled by Tesla and EV News enthusiast Sawyer Merritt on Twitter shows how Model Y has fared in total sales when compared to the world’s best-selling vehicles last year.
Made a chart of the top 10 best-selling passenger cars worldwide in 2022 (in units).
Model Y was the only vehicle in the top 6 to actually grow its sales in 2022 (+88% YoY). Expect it to be #1 worldwide in terms of both revenue & unit sales in 2023. @elonmusk @Tesla pic.twitter.com/8ZIZXiiKcD
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 8, 2023
The Model Y ranked fourth in the list with 760,000 sales, outpacing Toyota Camry, which had 80,000 fewer units sold.
The chart also showed growth compared to 2021 sales where the Model Y was the only vehicle in the top 6 that had grown in sales. Sales growth for Model Y showed a +88.7% year-on-year rise when all other models saw a drop.
That’s quite impressive given the price bracket that Tesla Model Y plays in. No other vehicles on the list were from premium car manufacturers.
Source: Tesla
Globally, the Tesla Model Y increased in double-digit sales in a year when Tesla faced supply chain issues like many other brands. On the back of that, the Shanghai factory saw months of limited or no production due to Covid-19 lockdowns.
Tesla also opened two new factories in 2022. These included GigaTexas and GigaBerlin which had not yet reached full production capacity as the year came to an end.
These two plants are starting off by only producing the Tesla Model Y before adding other products to the production line mix.
Tesla Berlin factory final inspection. Source: Tesla
With the full production capacity of GigaTexas and GigaBerlin expected in 2023, it is quite possible that Tesla Model Y will surpass Toyota’s highest-selling SUV in 2022, the Toyota Rav4.
The Rav4 sold around 870,000 while seeing a 13.7% drop in sales compared to the year prior.
Even with a slight increase to last year’s production levels, the Tesla Model Y will surpass Toyota’s sales from last year. This would make it the second-best-selling car in the world.
Image: Wu Wa on YouTube
With an expected production volume of 1.8 million plus EVs by Tesla in 2023, the Model Y production will be pushing above 1 million units this year.
These production and sales estimates could also make it quite plausible for the Model Y to be the best-selling vehicle in the world.
The Model Y SUV which began deliveries has done quite well with 8,717 sales during 2022. This year, it’s expected to surpass the Tesla Model 3 sales here in Australia as well.
The introduction of incentives such as the FBT changes and those not yet made public by the federal government as part of the national EV strategy would form the foundation to further accelerate the uptake of EVs, naturally supercharging Tesla Model Y sales across the country.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.