WITH Tesla dealing with gross sales challenges on a worldwide scale, its sturdy Australian outfit isn’t any completely different, with year-to-date quantity down 62 per cent in 2025 resulting from myriad causes past the politics of the model’s polarising CEO.
However Tesla Australia is assured that contemporary advertising and new merchandise, such because the facelifted Mannequin Y, will reinvigorate the model’s gross sales fortunes right here.
Talking to GoAuto on the current 2025 Mannequin Y RWD launch, Tesla Australia and New Zealand nation director Thom Drew mentioned quite a lot of components contributed to the proportion gross sales dive this yr, together with a really sturdy comparative first quarter of 2024 and an inevitable delay within the mannequin changeover between previous and new Mannequin Ys.
“Not going too granular on the main points, we had actually large supply months (from January to April) final yr, partially from the launch of the brand new Mannequin 3, but in addition partially with some logistics delays that we had and some influencing components that made the beginning of final yr very, very fruitful,” he mentioned.
“So the year-on-year numbers do look vital. There’s no shying away from that. However the changeover of previous to new Mannequin Y is an enormous contributing issue.”
Mr Drew mentioned he expects the overall softening in Australian EV gross sales in 2025 will quickly flip round, although his underlying expectation is that Tesla gross sales will considerably enhance within the coming months.
“We have simply began Mannequin Y take a look at drives, which individuals have been ready for earlier than they make their determination, after which deliveries start (in early Could). So yeah, we count on to see that (gross sales) consequence enhance.
“These vehicles have actually solely simply began to reach within the final two or three weeks into all their places, and (we’re) seeing a file demand for [test] drives coming by,” he mentioned.
However Tesla Australia will want extra than simply pent-up demand for the facelifted Mannequin Y to regain its gross sales standing.
Mr Drew confirmed that Tesla Australia was about to embark on a contemporary advertising marketing campaign, underpinned by the model’s unmatched ‘Supercharger’ public charging community and the energy of its merchandise.
“(We’re) most likely not able to publicly share precisely what we’re doing, however we’ve got reinvested in our advertising group. We’ve constructed out the group, we’ve introduced on Kevin Goult (former Jaguar Land Rover, Hyundai and Audi advertising government) in a senior capability to assist us re have interaction with native media. And clearly plan out a method to essentially get our product again in focus,” he mentioned.
“(Previously) we did do much more outbound advertising exercise and there was a change as we introduced on Mannequin 3 (in 2019), and that quantity and demand did change. I feel there was much less of a necessity at the moment (to market the Tesla model). However, you already know, swings and roundabouts, and we’re type of again right here once more, desirous to get the product on the market.”
The Cybertruck may effectively be part of that product story. Following a profitable 12-month Cybertruck tour of Australia and New Zealand, Tesla’s futuristic electrical dual-cab ‘ute’ seems prone to get a inexperienced mild for right-hand drive manufacturing, although that is but to be formally confirmed.
“It continues to be a dialog,” mentioned Mr Drew. “Clearly, the choice for that’s effectively above our native market. We’re making our case and advocating for that product and the place we see it realistically becoming into the (Australian) market.
“It’s a premium-priced product and so forth – (prone to be priced from $100K for the rear-drive mannequin to $200K for the tri-motor Cyberbeast) – however we expect domestically, we’ve acquired a great quantity of curiosity in it. And the advertising marketing campaign we’ve been doing for the final 12 months with the Cybertruck tour has garnered an incredible quantity of suggestions from individuals demanding for us to take their cash virtually.”
Australian curiosity within the Cybertruck is strengthened by headline options corresponding to a most 5000kg braked towing capability and an 1100kg payload in US specification.
“So we do assume there’s a great phase for it right here, (nevertheless) the selections should be made out of our engineering product group on whether or not or not they do launch it,” he mentioned.
Serving to the Cybertruck’s trigger is the relative ease of right-hand-drive manufacture. The steer-by-wire set-up means no steering column relocation, and other than varied Australian Design Rule (ADR) stipulations – which may very well be vital – there would solely be the swap from a North American Charging System socket to the CCS2 port utilized in Australia.
Nonetheless, Mr Drew has beforehand claimed that there are not any engineering limitations to impede a right-hand-drive Cybertruck.
Tesla positively has the manufacturing capability. Tesla CEO Elon Musk initially forecast annual gross sales of as much as 250,000 Cybertrucks, although lower than 50,000 have been bought because it started manufacturing on the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin, Texas in November 2023.
As for seemingly Australian Cybertruck demand or quantity, Mr Drew refused to verify any numbers, although when pressed, he did talk what he hoped it will be.
“I’m most likely not at liberty to say given the product-planning levels right here however I’d prefer to assume it was 5 (figures).”
