Long Range Model 3 charging at Geeveston, Tasmania. Image: Bridie Schmidt
Electric vehicle sales in Australia showed a real spring in their step during 2021 – and Tasmania was no exception, particularly when it came to Tesla.
Given the challenges Tasmania and the rest of the country faced during 2021 due to the pandemic, Tasmania Tesla ownership did quite well, with a near trebling in the uptake of new Teslas in 2021.
So, what were the couple of factors that helped further accelerate Tesla ownership growth in Tasmania and what the 2022 EV uptake might look like for the state?
Tasmania’s Tesla uptake sharply rose by over 178% in 2021
For Tasmania, carloop did an analysis of 165 new Teslas that new Tasmanian owners purchased over 2020 and 2021. 44 of these new owners purchased a Tesla in 2020 which increased fairly quickly to 121 new Teslas on Tasmanian roads in 2021.
Stamp duty removal on EV has a clear impact on Tesla uptake
One of the major factors that contributed to this increased uptake in Tasmania was removing the stamp duty for EVs in the state. This helped decrease the cost of a Tesla Model 3 RWD (previously SR+) to just over $62,000 in Tasmania for the second half of 2021.
Source: Tesla
With this Tasmanian EV scheme in place from July 2021, that’s a saving of nearly $3,000 of the price of the Model 3 in states that currently do not have any incentives.
This removal of stamp duty along with the price decrease contributed to a much greater Tesla uptake in the second half of 2021 and the data below shows the ordering trends.
Nearly 50% of Tassie Teslas ordered in last quarter of 2021
Of the 121 new Teslas analysed during 2021, 49.9% were ordered in the last quarter. This is quite different from the Tesla uptake trends seen in other states like Queensland.
The impact of the stamp duty removal really started to show in the uptake with more new Teslas being ordered in the last quarter of 2021 than in any previous quarter.
Source: carloop
Another point worth considering is that the rise in new Tasmanian Tesla orders in 2021 also coincided with the ending of the Southern Tasmanian lockdown in October 2021.
Australia’s first V3 Tasmania Supercharger opened in Tasmania during 2021
2021 also seemed like a very positive year for Tasmania not only in terms of the many new Teslas ending up on Tasmanian roads but also for the grand opening of the new Tesla supercharger.
This happened to be Australia’s first V3 Tesla supercharger located at Devonport located at the Spirit of Tasmania terminal. These chargers are rated at 250kW and since the Tasmanian site opened, more have opened across other parts of Australia as well.
Thank you @TeslaCharging pic.twitter.com/EUi7IvmHUg
— “Legacy” Model S (@mralbertsun) June 3, 2021
This not only showed Tesla’s commitment to Tasmania Tesla owners but also put Tasmania on the map for many mainland Tesla owners to visit the great state.
The more Teslas seen on Tasmanian roads also helped with EV awareness and EV tourism in general for the state.
2022 Tassie Tesla predictions
The recent Tesla uptake seen in the second half of 2021 paints a promising picture of what’s to come for Tesla and EV uptake in general in Tasmania. Carloop expects new Tesla ownership in the state to be up by another 125% in 2022.
There is more certainty in Tasmania in 2022 than there was in 2021. That’s not only due to the impact of Covid-19 being lower this year but also more certainty in 2022 after the election win of a pro EV government back in 2021.
Apart from the subsidy program mentioned, the launch of the new Model Y for the Australian market is hoped for around the second quarter in 2022 in which case it’s possible that we’ll see third-quarter deliveries to Australia.
This is looking more positive with the recent announcement of Tesla’s gigafactory in Berlin in the first quarter to help take some load from Tesla’s GigaShanghai which is Australia’s production facility.
Overall, 2022 looks like a very positive year for Tesla uptake in Tasmania and across the rest of Australia too.
Keyword: Stamp duty exemptions underpin big jump in Tesla deliveries in island state