Tesla Model Y Is The Best-Selling Car In The World, First EV To Do So

Tesla Model Y recorded 2,67,200 units in Q1 CY2023 with a YoY volume increase of 69 per cent compared to the same period in 2022

Nearly a year ago, Tesla’s Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, announced during the annual shareholder conference that the Model Y electric SUV would become the most sold passenger vehicle in the world in the calendar year 2023. The Model Y is in no way a cheap zero-emission vehicle to buy and thus the industry-leading high volume target was considered unachievable.

With Elon Musk and his brand Tesla known for breaking stereotypes, it does not come as a surprise to see the Model Y heading the sales charts in the first quarter of 2023. This is a huge development in the automotive industry’s transition towards all-electric vehicles as the Tesla Model Y becomes the first pure EV to top the sales table for best-selling cars in the world.

This is according to JATO Dynamics data for 53 markets across the globe in addition to information from other main marketplaces and estimations. The growth of the brand Tesla has been monumental in recent years and the Model Y topping the charts is a testament to that. The American manufacturer has dropped the prices of the midsize electric SUV in recent times too.

Another major contributor has been the expansion of the Model Y’s footprint across many markets. In 2022, the Toyota RAV4 finished on top of the sales charts ahead of the Toyota Corolla and Model Y. The data suggests that Tesla retailed 7,47,500 units of the Model Y with a massive YoY increase of 91 per cent compared to the same period in 2021.

The Model Y was nearly 2.5 lakh units short of Corolla and 2.68 lakh units adrift of RAV4 last year. In the first quarter of this CY though, Tesla sold 2,67,200 units of the Model Y with a YoY sales surge of 69 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2022. It showed good numbers in its home market of the United States with a growth of 68 per cent as well as China.

It also led the way in Europe. The Toyota Corolla, on the other hand, endured a YoY sales decline of 10 per cent in the US and 29 per cent in the Chinese market. The Corolla garnered 2,56,400 units in Q1 CY2023 and thus the gap between the top two models is not that much!