Tesla Model Y claims 23-year Holden sales title

The Tesla Model Y electric car has become the first new vehicle since the Holden Commodore in 2003 to report more than 8000 sales in a calendar month, amid record demand for EVs.

It is a title that has been left to stand for more than 20 years, never claimed by surges in popularity of small hatchbacks and sedans 15 years ago, utes over the past decade, and the Toyota RAV4 hybrid in recent years.

The 8072 Model Y SUVs reported in June 2026 represent the highest monthly sales for a new vehicle since 8365 Holden Commodore sales were reported in March 2003, according to Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) data analysed by Drive.

The previous second-highest monthly sales by a single vehicle since March 2003, passed by Tesla last month, was another Holden Commodore result: 7869 cars in October 2004.

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Never in the past 23 and a quarter years is a single vehicle understood to have exceeded 8000 sales in a calendar month.

The Toyota HiLux's sales record stands at 7532 vehicles in June 2022, the Ford Ranger at 7767 in December 2023, and the Toyota RAV4 at 6712 in August 2024.

After exceeding 7000 monthly sales seven times over the following nine months, the Commodore would go onto post 86,553 sales for 2003.

It is the last time a new vehicle would clock up more than 80,000 sales in a calendar year in Australia.

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Sales slipped to 79,170 in 2004, and 66,794 in 2005, before eventually losing the top step in 2011 to the Mazda 3, by which time Commodore sales had dropped to 40,617.

If the Model Y can maintain an average of 2839 monthly sales for the rest of 2026, the Commodore's 2011 sales is a figure the Tesla will beat, having reported 23,588 registrations so far this year.

The Model Y is well on track to beat its sales record of 28,769 set in 2023, as it is already ahead of its full-year 2024 (21,253) and 2025 (22,239) performance.

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More than half of the Tesla Model Y SUVs reported as registered so far this year were added to its tally in May or June (13,677 combined), having topped the overall new-car sales charts in both months.

It has come amid a surge in demand for electric cars following conflict in the Middle East that sent fuel prices soaring, as well as the arrival of the six-seat Model Y L to boost Tesla deliveries.

Electric vehicles accounted for a record 23.3 per cent of new vehicles reported as sold in June 2026, up from 10.3 per cent a year earlier.