Tesla Model Y 2026 News

Tesla is trying to provide better value for Model Y and Model 3 drivers in Australia.The brand has introduced guaranteed future value loans for new cars.This allows prospective buyers to lock in a guaranteed minimum future value to reduce monthly repayments.Customers can choose to pay a predetermined amount to keep the car or upgrade to a new model at the end of the loan period.Tesla said this will minimise the unexpected depreciation usually attached when selling a previously new car.New cars depreciate by a significant portion of the purchase price over the first few years of ownership, generally, and EVs have attracted a higher rate of depreciation than other cars.Tesla said that by deferring a portion of the car’s cost to the guaranteed future value, monthly payments will be cheaper than traditional loans.The car must be well looked after and comply with wear and tear guidelines, as well as meet the agreed kilometre usage in order to be eligible for the deal.Car leasing company Driva is facilitating the scheme, with the initiative being extended to rideshare later this month.The Tesla Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan are both eligible for the deal.The Model Y starts from $58,900, before on-road costs, with prices ranging up to $89,400 for the Performance grade.Meanwhile, the Model 3 starts from $54,900, but the top grade costs a minimum of $80,900.The Model Y was the best-selling car in Australia in June, producing the best sales month since the Holden Commodore in the early 2000s.Tesla introduced a six-seater variant of the SUV earlier this year, the Model Y L, which it said has been a strong seller.Electric vehicles sales continue to increase in Australia in light of their increased affordability and skyrocketing fuel prices.

Electric cars are finally having their mainstream moment in Australia, and now make up over 16 per cent of Australia’s new car market.Sales have significantly jumped year-on-year, helped along by a much wider availability of more affordable models, but also an unprecedented fuel crisis, which has made the cost of running a petrol- or diesel-powered vehicle front of mind for many.This surge of new options has also seen the list of top-selling electric cars undergo a significant re-shuffle, with new brands featuring heavily.Tesla notably takes the crown for the best selling EV in Australia for the first half of 2026, with its Model Y achieving 20,396 total registrations according to Electric Vehicle Council data. This is due to an eyebrow-raising 8072 unit tally in June thanks to a literal boatload of cars arriving.Next down the charts is BYD with its smash-hit Sealion 7 mid-size SUV. The Sealion 7, which is a key rival to the Model Y, can be had at a more keen $54,990 price-point with similar specs to the Tesla that starts from $58,900 before on-roads.Alongside the plug-in hybrid Shark 6, the Sealion 7 is a major part of BYD’s success story in Australia over the past year.The next two players down compete at the entry-level to their respective segments.Geely’s EX5 clocked up 6756 registrations in the first half of 2026, a quiet achiever in an extremely competitive part of the market. While it goes into battle against a range of rivals in the $40,000 price bracket, it has more than doubled the sales of its closest rival, the previously-popular BYD Atto 3, and it sold 20 times the volume of the similar Leapmotor C10.Below the EX5 is the Jaecoo J5. While this model is now available with petrol power, it is the EV version that has been on sale longer and managed to secure fourth position for the first half of the year, racking up 6113 units.This is no doubt largely thanks to the electric version’s extremely keen $36,990 before on-roads price-tag and generous dimensions for a small SUV, making it the sweet spot for many first time EV adopters. It also undercuts the Atto 3 and Leapmotor B10, and has good visibility in the market thanks to Omoda Jaecoo’s rapidly expanding dealer network.Rounding out the top five electric cars in Australia for the first half of 2026 is the Zeekr 7X. A smash hit for Geely’s premium arm. The 7X stands out for its radical design and strong specs at a generous price point (from $57,900 before on-roads). As a result, the brand tells us that it is attracting not only aspirational buyers, but also buyers who were previously driving BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes.Previous top-sellers, the Model 3 and BYD Atto 3, have now dropped out of the top five, amassing a little over 3000 sales each. Kia’s also-popular EV5 mid-size and EV3 SUVs fell short of the list with less than 3000 sales each.All of the electric cars in the top five for the first half of the year were built in China, with the exception of the Performance grade of the Tesla Model Y (which would account for only a small proportion of its sales), showing the country’s leadership in the electric car space.Mainstream brands are struggling on the EV front, with cars like the Toyota bZ4X mid-size SUV amassing just 1718 sales. Volkswagen is in a similar position, with its similar ID.4 amassing just 1183 sales.Even MG, which was the original Chinese-backed success story in Australia, has tumbled down the charts. Its MG4 hatch has lost hundreds of sales year-on-year. Its S5 and S6 electric SUVs are struggling to compete with newer players, amassing just 1713 and 647 sales respectively.The share of EV sales in the Australian market will inevitably grow as tough new emissions laws start to shape the line-ups of most brands.

The Tesla Model Y has just had its biggest sales month in Australia, and it has put it among the best sellers of all time, including the legendary Holden Commodore.The Model Y achieved 8072 sales in June 2026.Its sales have almost doubled year-on-year, up 95.5 per cent, with nearly 10,000 more than what it achieved in the whole of 2025. Tesla’s most popular model eclipsed the sales results of the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux by more than 2000 units in June. It is also the first fully electric car to top the sales charts in a single month.The Ranger and HiLux ute duo usually comfortably sit at the top of the charts in Australia each month, but the Model Y has shot ahead of them.It’s not just established players the Model Y is taking down. It’s even chasing the records of heroes past. The Holden Commodore was one of Australia’s most popular models ever, and by the late 90s and early 2000s was reaching its peak with the VT, VX and VY versions.It achieved more than 9000 sales in a month on three separate occasions between 1998 and 2000.It peaked with 9667 sales in October 2002. Model Y sales could continue to rise in Australia due to soaring fuel prices and emissions regulations.  The Model Y has led the way for EVs for some time in Australia, and it continues to bat away hugely popular alternatives like the Zeekr 7X.The ongoing Iran war and fuel price increases have no doubt impacted its increased popularity in Australia, along with many other EVs. This sales increase has also coincided with the arrival of the Model Y L six-seater, which the brand said "capturing a significant share" of sales. Tesla usually delivers every vehicle that is shipped to Australia that month, but something the shipping cycles don't lie-u to the same amount every month, which can result in unusually low or high results in any particular month.Tesla sold about around 2000 units less of the Model Y in April 2026 than it did the previous month, which Tesla Australia said was down to the delivery cycles of the vehicles. The brand said it has been able to satisfy increasing demand through the production capability of the Shanghai Gigafactory.

Tesla has reasserted itself as the electric car king of Australia.The American EV maker sold 8670 vehicles in June, its biggest month ever, according to data released by the Electric Vehicle Council. It was so big that it beat the previous best month, which was May, by 26 per cent.It will be in the running to beat all other carmakers in June except for Toyota.Leading the charge was the Model Y SUV, which recorded 8072 of those sales. This will likely make it the best-selling vehicle in the nation when the full sales data gets released tomorrow, as no vehicle in recent memory has hit that figure.The Model 3 sedan chipped in with roughly 600 sales in June.Tesla has asserted its dominance as the premier electric vehicle brand in the country, with a total of 23,588 sales through the first six months. This is equal to a 66 per cent increase through June.Electric vehicle sales have experienced strong growth this year, especially since the Iran war and the resulting high fuel prices.What makes Tesla’s June result even more impressive is that fuel prices across the country had moderated and were effectively back to normal by the end of the month.Tesla has a healthy supply pipeline, with the brand’s local website quoting delivery times for the standard Model Y in July to August. The three-row Model Y L appears to be more in demand with expected delivery times between August and September. The more niche five-seat Model Y Performance won’t land in your driveway until September or October if ordered today.Tesla would be one of the main beneficiaries of the federal government’s Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for electric vehicles.This FBT exemption allows buyers to pay for the vehicle pre-tax and to side-step the 47 per cent FBT rate.The tax break has been a huge hit, with the scheme costing more than 10 times what the government had forecasted. There were calls for the scheme to be axed to help alleviate the predicted budget deficit, and it is perceived to help a greater proportion of well-off Australians.The federal government announced earlier this year it would be walking back the plan, with it to end by March, 2029.

Driving range is the biggest talking point with electric cars. Range anxiety remains a prevalent road block to potential EV buyers, despite ever-increasing claimed figures.Figures are measured using many different testing cycles, which all have varying degrees of perceived accuracy.  The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) is viewed as the most accurate standard available.Its testing figures often come in noticeably lower than the older New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) and the even more generous China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC). As much as these systems do their best to mirror real-world driving, they can never be truly accurate because of the different ways people use their cars.The Australian Automobile Association’s Real-World Testing Program has done the ground work to see just how accurate these figures are when they are put to the test on the roads. The testing was completed in Victoria, with each vehicle travelling a route of 93km.We’ve compiled the most- and least-accurate EV driving ranges, according to what is reported and what they actually did on the road.The figures used for this data are the quoted Australian Design Rules figures used for sales approval.Brands base these figures on the various testing standards, and this means the difference in accuracy between reported and actual figures may not be as dramatic as portrayed by the raw numbers. This is particularly apparent for Chinese brands that register a more lenient testing method (NEDC) than other brands, which represents an exaggerated difference compared to real-world figures than what WLTP would show. Topping the list for the most inaccurate figure is the 2023 MG4 all-wheel drive hatchback. The quoted figure for this car is 405km, but it was more than 100km off that calculated in the real world. It only managed 281km, which was a 31 per cent difference. The MG4 has a WLTP range of 350km, making it a less egregious roughly 19 per cent inaccuracy. The theme of Chinese brands continues down the list, with three of the other four cars in the top five all being made by BYD. The BYD Seal sedan has a claimed driving range of 650km, but in the real world it only reached 488km, resulting in a 25 per cent decrease, but that dropped to 14 per cent based on WLTP figures. BYD’s Dolphin hatchback had a 24 per cent drop-off on its ADR figure of 410km, only capable of travelling 313km, but that was only an eight per cent decrease based on WLTP. The Kia EV6 mid-size SUV registered an eight per cent shortfall on its WLTP figure, travelling 484km instead of 528km. Kia's EV5, EV6 and EV9 SUVs also represent 11 per cent shortfalls on their WLTP range figures. The BYD Atto 3 small SUV was also in the top five and had a 20 per cent shortfall on its ADR figure of 410km, only reaching 328km. That was only a 5 per cent decrease based on its WLTP figure. Finally, the Tesla Model 3 had a 14 per cent drop off on what was expected based on WLTP numbers. The Kia EV5 is joined by the Tesla Model Y, with ADR and WLTP figures only representing a three per cent difference at the other end of the scale.The BYD Sealion 7 is one of the more dramatic examples of the inaccuracy of the NEDC system. Its 17 per cent shortfall based on NEDC standards is reduced to just three per cent when based on WLTP. While this data demonstrates how EVs perform in real life, it also provides important insight into how differing testing standards can dramatically alter driving range expectations. WLTP figures remain the most accurate mainstream testing regime, with NEDC and CLTC testing exaggerating potential driving range.

The electric vehicle revolution is in full swing after another standout month in Australia. There were 21,303 EVs sold in May 2026, as they continue to take hold at the expense of petrol- and diesel-powered cars. SUVs remain the dominant player in the electric segment, accounting for nine of the 10 best sellers.Tesla’s smashing May performance was headlined by 5605 sales for its Model Y SUV, cementing its position as the leading EV in Australia.The Model Y also claimed the title for the best-selling car in Australia last month.  The Jaecoo J5 EV had its best month on sale since it hit Aussie showrooms at the start of this year, selling 2126 units, up from less than 700 in April. This makes the J5 the best-selling small SUV in the country currently, even outselling its closely related and cheaper petrol sibling, the Chery Tiggo 4. The Geely EX5 also surged up the sales charts, achieving 1814 sales, while the BYD Sealion 7 experienced another bumper month, with 1538 sales. The Zeekr 7X rounds out the top five following a continued solid performance since its introduction late last year. BYD’s budget EV trio the Atto 3, Atto 2 and Atto 1 shifted more than 2000 units between them.The BYD Seal (580) is the only non-SUV on this list.Every car in the top 10 selling EVs for May is primarily built in China, with none coming from legacy brands. Some of the other EVs to miss out on a top 10 spot include the MG4 as well as Kia's EV3 and EV5 duo.Top selling electric cars May 2026

The electric car sales boom is still in full swing, with the latest data revealing a record-breaking month for Tesla in Australia.Tesla sold 6433 units in May 2026, equating to the highest single month recorded for the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) ever. This sales surge has been mainly driven by the Tesla Model Y SUV, which achieved 5605 sales in May 2026, more than 2000 units up compared to May 2025.This latest data likely cements the Model Y as the best-selling electric vehicle in Australia, with the BYD Sealion 7 and Zeekr 7 still trailing the popular Tesla.The Model 3 sedan has also seen a big sales boost for May, more than doubling its total compared to the same time last year. Tesla’s increasing sales comes after the brand launched its six-seater Model Y L in Australia, adding further diversity to its lineup. Tesla experienced a tricky April this year, with both its Model Y and Model 3 copping big downturns in sales.The brand said delivery cycles impact how sales numbers look on a month-to-month basis, with differing numbers of cars being imported into the country. Polestar has also experienced some sales growth, with its Polestar 4 up nearly 40 per cent on year-to-date. It comes as high fuel prices continue to weigh on the minds of buyers, accelerating the EV transition.EVC Chief Executive Officer Julie Delvecchio said this data was a crucial point in the EV push."May 2026 is an important moment for Australia's EV transition - the strongest month on record for combined Tesla and Polestar sales,” Delvecchio said. “When fuel prices hurt, people look for alternatives. Electric vehicles offer exactly that - no trips to the servo, no price spikes at the pump, savings of around $3,000 a year.“We know Australians buy cars that save them money, suit their lifestyle and perform well. Record EV sales suggest more Australians are finding electric vehicles tick all three boxes.”Chinese brands such as BYD have also been getting in on the increasing popularity of EVs, with its Sealion 7 mid-sizer expected to continue its strong sales performance in Australia. 

Tesla has seemingly rectified the most annoying flaw in its Model Y SUV with the introduction of a retractable sunshade to reduce heat radiating into the cabin through the car’s large glass panoramic roof.Launched as an accessory on the brand’s Chinese website at ¥1499 (~A$310), the manual sunshade will be available for delivery from Thursday this week.Installation appears to be straight forward with the single-piece unit trimmed in the same fabric as the original factory headliner and features metallic handles.DIY fitment should be the norm but Tesla is also offering professional installation for an additional fee.And unlike the myriad of aftermarket (typically clip-in) third-party options available, the factory unit is constructed with an integrated frame and uses a roller-type design to ensure low noise.It’s worth noting Tesla has published a patent focused on engineering the glass roof to help cool the cabin, so this new option may ultimately be a temporary solution.Suitable for 2025 and later Model Ys, Tesla said the shade has “undergone full-vehicle airbag deployment testing and multiple road tests to ensure safe use”. CarsGuide contacted Tesla Australia to check in on local availability and a spokesperson said, “At this point in time the retractable roof is just for China, however it is anticipated that accessories will be available outside of the Chinese market in the future.“What we have seen with Model Y L is an overwhelming global volume (for markets that do take it) which sees accessories take some time to come to market”, they said.

Year-to-date registration data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) show ‘electrified’ passenger and light commercial vehicles have crossed a significant tipping point to become a more popular choice than traditional diesel and purely petrol-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) options in Australia.To the end of April, sales of battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles stood at 50,976 units, a 79.2 per cent increase on the same four-month period in 2025 (28,448 units).At the same time, sales of ICE vehicles (including light commercials but not heavy trucks) have dropped 35.9 per cent from 64,991 in 2025 to 47,813 units this year.Tellingly, sales of pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have grown by just over 100 per cent, with key players BYD up 110.8 per cent (25,243 vs 11,974) and Tesla 49.9 per cent year-on-year (8485 vs 5660).Individual (higher volume) stand-out BEV models include the BYD Sealion 7 and Dolphin, Geely EX5, Kia EV3, Tesla Model Y and Toyota bZ4X.And when it comes to hybrids, thanks to better supply of the new-generation version, the ever-popular Toyota RAV4 has come up to its more usual monthly sales rate and has been joined by its big-brother LandCruiser 300 Hybrid.Add in other relatively recent hybrid arrivals like the Chery Tiggo 4 Hybrid joining now established disrupters like the BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha and hybrid sales are set to expand even further. Clearly, April 2026 marked a historical moment in time for the Aussie new vehicle market.

Safety ratings have been handed out for the hotly-anticipated Tesla Model Y L, BYD Seal 6 and other EVs, with a surprise for one family SUV.This latest batch of results were assessed using the Australasian New Car Assessment Program's (ANCAP) outdated 2023-2025 testing criteria, with the revamped 2026 criteria still to be officially brought in.The new testing protocols will have a greater focus on accident prevention, emphasising safe driving and crash avoidance, while crash protection remains an important factor.These vehicles are now able to hold a five star rating for six years."We can expect to see ratings assessed under 2023 to 2025 criteria for some time as they enter the Australian and New Zealand markets," ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg said in a statement to CarsGuide. "The first vehicles rated against the new 2026 criteria are expected later this year.”The incoming six-seat Tesla Model Y L SUV has been awarded a five-star rating, which is based on the rating of the standard Model Y. The Model Y L is Tesla’s first three-row car on sale, with deliveries starting last week. ANCAP said there were additional tests undertaken on the car to ensure results were applicable to the Model Y L.While achieving a protection rating of 91 per cent for Adult Occupant, ANCAP noted there were difficulties in correctly installing child restraints. This resulted in an 11 per cent decrease to 84 per cent for Child Occupant protection compared to the standard Model Y.The incoming BYD Seal 6 also received a five-star rating, with the car arriving imminently in the Australia as a plug-in hybrid sedan or wagon. The Seal 6 received an overall adult protection rating of 92 per cent, with maximum points for side impact and oblique pole tests, with good protection generally offered on the frontal offset test.Elsewhere Child Occupant protection was at 90 per cent, while Vulnerable User Protection was 84 per cent. MG’s new MG4 Urban budget EV has also picked up a five-star rating, courtesy of protection ratings of 87 per cent for Adult Occupant and 86 per cent for Child Occupant.The MG4 was marked down for marginal protection of the driver’s legs due to upward pedal movement.The Skoda Octavia was also awarded five stars, following reassessment of vehicles built from July 2025.