Tesla sales slumped in Australia last month, but Polestar sales continued to rise in October, according to data from the Electric Vehicle Council.
The electric vehicle (EV) lobby group has released October sales figures for the two brands, ahead of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ release of its monthly VFACTS report tomorrow; Polestar and Tesla sales figures aren’t published in the latter.
The figures show Tesla sales were down 37.4 per cent on October 2024 to 916 units, following successive year-on-year increases in August and September.
Polestar sales, in contrast, rose by 18.5 per cent to 154 units last month.
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As has been the case all year, declining sales of the Model 3 sedan are dragging down Tesla’s tally. It shifted just 181 examples, down 82.6 per cent, while the related Model Y mid-size SUV accounted for 735 sales – up 74.2 per cent on October last year.
So far this year, Tesla has delivered 23,569 vehicles in Australia, down 26.8 per cent on the same period last year, with the Model Y (17,972, up 1.3 per cent) putting the Model 3 (5597, down 61.3 per cent) in the shade.
Meantime, Polestar sales are up 38.6 per cent to 2022 units, with the Polestar 4 mid-size SUV (1099 sales) accelerating past the Polestar 2 fastback (672, down 51.2 per cent). The remainder of Polestar’s reported sales were of the Polestar 3 large SUV (251 sales).
However, Tesla’s chief threat comes not from Polestar but from BYD, and we’ll need to wait until tomorrow to see how much of a buffer remains between the two brands.
BYD’s overall sales remain well above Tesla’s, though it’s helped by a wider range of models which also includes plug-in hybrids.
Looking at BYD’s arch-rivals for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, however, we can see Tesla maintains a lead.
To the end of September, BYD delivered 2955 Seal sedans and 8483 Sealion 7 SUVs. Even if both models enjoy a bumper month, it’s unlikely they’ll push past Tesla in year-to-date tallies.
Tesla
| Model | October 2025 sales | YoY change |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y | 735 | +74.2% |
| Tesla Model 3 | 181 | -82.6% |
| TOTAL | 916 | -37.4% |
Polestar
| Model | October 2025 sales | YoY change |
|---|---|---|
| Polestar 2 | 10 | -89.0% |
| Polestar 3 | 78 | – |
| Polestar 4 | 66 | – |