As electric vehicles (EVs) continue to increase in popularity around the world, New Zealand‘s auto market is seeing increased sales of the Tesla Model 3 amidst a new subsidy for zero-emission and low-emission vehicles.
Registrations of the Tesla Model 3 have surpassed those of the Nissan Leaf in New Zealand, according to The Driven.
The Tesla Model 3 saw a total of 3,333 units registered in 2021, while the Nissan Leaf had just 2,662, with Elon Musk’s company topping sales of the Japanese automaker’s electric for the first time.
The figure is an increase from the Model 3’s 506 registrations in 2020, and a marginal increase for the Nissan Leaf, which registered 2,506 units the prior year.
Tesla Drops Price of Model 3 in New Zealand and Australia https://t.co/MlFGk19Yac
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) April 16, 2021
The news comes just months after the country deployed a “Clean Car Discount” in July, offering between $3,450-$8,625, depending on if a vehicle is new, used, imported or otherwise.
It also marks the very first time the Model 3 has landed in the top 10 auto sales overall.
The entry-level Tesla Model 3 costs $NZ60,307 after the subsidy, and it was immediately shown to be effective when the car surpassed the Toyota Hilux in September 2021.
In addition, the Model 3 is inching closer to competing with the Toyota Hybrid RAV4 and the company’s Hybrid Corolla.
New Zealand currently has over 37,000 EVs across the country including both battery-electric and plugin hybrid models.
